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THE 


DEDICATION 

OF  THE 

Washington  National  Monum 

WITH  THE 

ORATIONS 

HY 

HON.  ROBERT  C.  WINTHROP 

AND 

HON.  JOHN  W.  DANIEL. 

FEBRUARY   21,  1886. 


PUBLISHED  BY  ORDER  OF  CONGRESS. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING  OFFICE. 
1885. 


THE  DEDICATION 

OF  THE 

W ASHINGTON  N  A T 1 0 N A L  M 0 N  U  M  E N T, 

FEBRUARY  21,  1885. 


PRELIMINARY  PROCEEDINGS. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  having-  received  a  noti- 
fication from  Hon.  W.  W.  Corcoran,  chairman  of  the  Joint 
Commission  for  the  completion  of  the  Washington  National 
Monument,  that  the  shaft  was  approaching  completion, 
passed  the  following  joint  resolution,  which  was  reported  to 
the  Senate  by  the  Hon.  Justin  S.  Morrill,  of  Vermont: 


Joint  Resolution  in  relation  to  ceremonies  to  be  authorized  upon  the  completion 
of  the  Washington  Monument. 

Whereas  the  shaft  of  the  Washington  Monument  is  approaching 
completion,  and  it  is  proper  that  it  should  be  dedicated  with  appro- 
priate ceremonies,  calculated  to  perpetuate  the  fame  of  the  illustrious 
man  who  was  "  First  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of 
his  countrymen":  Therefore, 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
State*  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  a  commission  to  con- 
sist of  five  Senators  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  Senate,  eight 
Representatives  appointed  by  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, three  members  of  the  Washington  Monument  Society,  and 
the  United  States  engineer  in  charge  of  the  work,  be,  and  the  same 
is  hereby,  created,  with  full  powers  to  make  arrangements  for — 

First.  The  dedication  of  the  Monument  to  the  name  and  memory 
of  George  Washington,  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  with 
appropriate  ceremonies. 

Second.  A  procession  from  the  Monument  to  the  Capitol,  escorted 
by  regular  and  volunteer  corps,  the  Washington  Monument  Society, 
representatives  of  cities,  States,  and  organizations  which  have  con- 

3 


4  Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

tributcd  blocks  of  stone,  and  such  bodies  of  citizens  as  may  desire  to 
appear. 

Third.  An  oration  in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
on  the  twenty  second  day  of  February,  anno  Domini  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five,  by  the  honorable  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  who 
delivered  the  oration  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Monu- 
ment in  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-eight,  with  music  by  the  Marine 
Band. 

Fourth.  Salutes  of  one  hundred  guns  from  the  navy-yard,  the  artil- 
lery headquarters,  and  such  men-of-war  as  can  be  anchored  in  the 
Potomac. 

And  such  sum  of  money  as  may  be  necessary  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses incurred  under  the  above  provisions,  not  exceeding  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars,  is  hereby  appropriated,  out  of  any  money 
in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

Approved,  May  13,  1884. 

The  Commission,  as  appointed  by  the  Presiding  Officers 
of  the  Senate  and  of  the  House,  was:  Senator  John  Sher- 
man, of  Ohio;  Senator  Justin  S.  Morrill,  of  Vermont;  Senator 
William  B.  Allison,  of  Iowa  ;  Senator  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  of 
Delaware  ;  and  Senator  Lucius  Q.  C.  Lamar,  of  Mississippi ; 
Representative  William  Dorsheimer,  of  New  York;  Repre- 
sentative John  Randolph  Tucker,  of  Virginia;  Representa- 
tive John  H.  Reagan,  of  Texas ;  Representative  Patrick  A. 
Collins,  of  Massachusetts;  Representative  Nathaniel  B.  El- 
dredge,  of  Michigan;  Representative  Henry  H.  Bingham,  of 
Pennsylvania;  Representative  Joseph  G.  Cannon,  of  Illinois; 
and  Representative  James  Laird,  of  Nebraska.  With  these 
members  of  Congress  were  associated,  under  the  joint  reso- 
lution: Hon.  W.  WT.  Corcoran,  J.  C.  Welling,  LL.D.,  and 
J.  M.  Toner,  M.  D. ,  members  of  the  Washington  National 
Monument  Society ;  and  Lieut.  Col.  Thomas  Lincoln  Casey, 
U.  S.  Army,  the  engineer  in  charge. 

The  Commission,  after  the  performance  of  the  duties 
assigned  to  it,  made  the  following 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  5 


report : 

The  Commission  organized  under  the  joint  resolution,  approved 
May  13,  1884,  "In  relation  to  ceremonies  to  be  authorized  upon  the 
completion  of  the  Washington  Monument,"  as  modified  by  the  joint 
resolution  approved  December  18,  1884,  respectfully  report  (hat  at  a 
meeting  of  said  Commission,  held  in  the  room  of  the  Joint  Commit- 
tee on  the  Library,  June  19,  1884,  Hon.  John  Sherman  was  desig- 
nated chairman,  E.  J,  Babcock  secretary,  and  F.  L.  Harvey  assis-tant 
secretary. 

An  invitation  was  extended  to  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop  to  deliver 
an  address  in  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the  occasion  of  the 
dedication,  which  was  accepted.  The  correspondence  relating  therel  1 1 
is  herewith  communicated. 

Special  invitations  were  sent  to  the  distinguished  persons  described 
in  the  joint  resolution,  and  an  engraved  card  of  invitation  was  sent 
to  a  great  number  of  civil  and  military  organizations  throughout  the; 
United  States,  the  Regents  of  Mount  Vernon,  relatives  of  General 
Washington,  and.  distinguished  persons,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith 
communicated. 

Selections  from  the  letters  of  acceptance  and  declination  are  also 
communicated. 

The  Commission  invited  Lieut.  Gen.  P.  H.  Sheridan  to  act  as 
Marshal  of  the  Day,  with  an  aide-de-camp  from  every  State  and  Ter- 
ritory. This  invitation  was  promptly  accepted,  and  General  Sheri- 
dan entered  with  zeal  and  activity  upon  the  performance  of  the  duties 
assigned  him. 

An  order  of  proceedings  for  the  dedication  of  the  Monument,  for 
the  procession  from  the  Monument  to  the  Hall  of  the  House,  and  for 
the  arrangements  at  the  Capitol  was  provided  by  the  Commission  and 
approved  by  concurring  resolution  of  the  two  Houses.  This  order 
of  proceedings  was  executed  in  all  its  details  without  any  accident, 
interruption,  or  change. 

The  thanks  of  the  Commission  are  justly  due  to  General  Sheridan 
for  the  admirable  manner  in  which  the  order  of  procession  was  exe- 
cuted. 

The  addresses,  prayers,  and  ceremonies  are  herewith  communicated 
in  the  order  in  which  they  occurred. 

The  Commission  feel  that  they  will  not  have  fully  discharged  their 
duty  without  reporting  to  the  two  Houses  a  resolution  of  thanks  to 


6  Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


Col  Thomas  Lincoln  Casey,  Engineer  Corps,  U.  S.  Army,  for  his  skill, 
ability,  and  fidelity,  and  to  his  associates  and  the  workmen  for  the  ad- 
mirable manner  in  which  they  have  performed  their  respective  duties 
in  the  erection  and  completion  of  the  Monument 

A  monument  has  been  erected  to  the  name  and  fame  of  George 
Washington,  more  imposing,  costly,  and  appropriate  than  ever  before 
was  erected  in  honor  of  any  man,  and  without  the  loss  of  a  life  in  its 
construction,  or  any  accident  or  event  to  mar  the  hearty  satisfaction 
of  the  American  people  at  its  successful  completion. 

John  Sherman.  Nathaniel  B.  Eldredge. 

Justin  S.  Morrill.  Henry  H.  Bingham. 

William  B.  Allison.  Joseph  G  Cannon. 

Thomas  F.  Bayard.  James  Laird. 

Lucius  Q.  C.  Lamar.  W.  W.  Corcoran. 

William  Dorsheimer.  James  C.  Welling. 

John  Randolph  Tucker.     Joseph  M.  Toner. 

John  H.  Reagan.  Thomas  L.  Casey. 

Patrick  A.  Collins. 

Programmes  were  published,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Commission,  giving  the  Order  of  Proceedings  at  the  Monu- 
ment and  at  the  Capitol.  General  P.  H.  Sheridan  published 
a  series  of  Orders,  giving  the  appointments  of  Marshals 
and  of  Aids,  directing  the  formation  of  the  several  Divisions, 
stating  the  route  over  which  the  Procession  would  march, 
and  making  special  assignments  of :  The  Ancient  and  Hon- 
orable Artillery  of  Massachusetts  as  honorary  escort  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States;  the  George  Washington  Post, 
No.  103,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  of  New  York,  as  hon- 
orary escort  to  the  President-elect  of  the  United  States  ;  and 
the  First  Troop  of  Pennsylvania  City  Cavalry  as  escort  to 
the  Marshal  of  the  Day.  The  details  for  the  organization  of 
the  Procession  were  carried  out  by  the  Chief  of  Staff  of  the 
Grand  Marshal  of  the  Day,  Bvt.  Brig.  Gen.  Albert  Ordway, 
U.  S.  Volunteers. 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument 


THE   DEDICATORY  EXERCISES, 

The  weather  on  Saturday,  February  21,  was  clear  and 
cold,  the  ground  around  the  base  of  the  Monument  was 
covered  with  encrusted  snow,  and  the  keen  wind,  while  it 
displayed  the  flags  on  every  hand,  made  it  rather  uncomfort- 
able for  those  who  arrived  before  the  appointed  time.  The 
regular  troops  and  the  citizen  soldiery  were  massed  in  close 
column  around  the  base  of  the  Monument,  the  Freemasons 
occupied  their  allotted  position,  and  in  the  pavilion  which 
had  been  erected  were  the  invited  guests ;  the  Executive, 
Legislative,  and  Judicial  Officers  ;  Officers  of  the  Army,  the 
Navy,  the  Marine  Corps,  and  the  Volunteers  ;  the  Diplomatic 
Corps,  eminent  Divines,  Jurists,  Scientists,  and  Journalists; 
venerable  Citizens,  representing  former  generations;  the 
Washington  National  Monument  Society,  and  a  few  Ladies 
who  had  braved  the  Arctic  weather. 

The  Marine  Band,  stationed  in  front  of  the  pavilion,  en- 
livened the  scene  by  the  performance  of  admirable  music. 

Senator  Sherman,  precisely  at  11  o'clock  a.  m.,  advanced 
to  the  front  of  the  pavilion  and  commenced  the  dedicatory 
exercises  with  the  following  prefatory  remarks  : 

ADDRESS    BY    HON.    JOHN  SHERMAN. 

The  Commission  authorized  by  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  to  pro- 
vide suitable  ceremonies  for  the  dedication  of  the  Washington  Monu 
ment  direct  me  to  preside  and  to  announce  the  order  of  ceremonies 
deemed  proper  on  this  occasion. 

I  need  not  say  anything  to  impress  upon  you  the  dignity  of  the 
event  you  have  met  to  celebrate  The  Monument  speaks  for  it- 
self— simple  in  form,  admirable  in  proportions,  composed  of  endur- 
ing marble  and  granite,  resting  upon  foundations  broad  and  deep,  it 


8 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


rises  into  the  skies  higher  than  any  work  of  human  art.  It  is  the 
most  imposing,  costly,  and  appropriate  monument  ever  erected  in  the 
honor  of  one  man. 

It  had  its  origin  in  the  profound  conviction  of  the  people,  irre- 
spective of  party,  creed,  or  race,  not  only  of  this  country,  but  of  all 
civilized  countries,  that  the  name  and  fame  of  Washington  should  be 
perpetuated  by  the  most  imposing  testimonial  of  a  nation's  gratitude 
to  its  Hero,  Statesman,  and  Father.  This  universal  sentiment  took 
form  in  a  movement  of  private  citizens  associated  under  the  name  of 
the  Washington  National  Monument  Association,  who,  on  the  31st 
day  of  January,  1848,  secured  from  Congress  an  act  authorizing  them 
to  erect  the  proposed  Monument  on  this  ground,  selected  as  the  most 
appropriate  site  by  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Its  corner- 
stone was  laid  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1848,  by  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity, with  imposing  ceremonies,  in  the  presence  of  the  chief  officers 
of  the  Government  and  a  multitude  of  citizens.  It  was  partially 
erected  by  the  National  Monument  Association  with  means  fur- 
nished by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States. 

On  the  5th  day  of  July,  1876,  one  hundred  years  after  the  Decla- 
ration of  American  Independence,  Congress,  in  the  name  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States,  formally  assumed  and  directed  the  completion 
of  the  Monument.  Since  then  the  foundation  has  been  strengthened, 
the  shaft  has  been  steadily  advanced,  and  the  now  completed  structure 
stands  before  you. 

It  is  a  fit  memorial  of  the  greatest  character  in  human  history.  It 
looks  down  upon  scenes  most  loved  by  him  on  earth,  the  most  con- 
spicuous object  in  a  landscape  full  of  objects  deeply  interesting  to 
the  American  people.  All  eyes  turn  to  it,  and  all  hearts  feel  the 
inspiration  of  its  beauty,  symmetry,  and  grandeur.  Strong  as  it  is,  it 
will  not  endure  so  long  as  the  memory  of  him  in  whose  honor  it  was 
built;  but  while  it  stands  it  will  be  the  evidence  to  many  succeeding 
generations  of  the  love  and  reverence  of  this  generation  for  the  name 
and  fame  of  George  Washington — "  First  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and 
first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen."  More  even  than  this — the 
prototype  of  purity,  manhood,  and  patriotism,  for  all  lands  and  for 
all  time. 

Without  further  preface  I  proceed  to  discharge  the  duty  assigned 
me. 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  9 

After  music  by  the  Marine  Band,  prayer  was  offered  by 
the  Rev.  Henderson  Suter,  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Alex- 
andria, Va. ,  where  Washington  worshiped. 


PRAYER    BY    REV.    HENDERSON  SUTER. 

Almighty  God,  Ruler  of  nations  and  of  men,  by  whose  providence 
our  fathers  were  led  to  this  goodly  land,  and  by  whom  they  were 
guided  and  sustained  in  their  efforts  to  secure  their  liberties,  accept 
this  day  the  grateful  homage  of  us,  the  inheritors  of  their  well-earned 
rights. 

Them  and  their  leaders  Thou  didst  choose.  With  courage  and 
patriotism  Thou  didst  inspire  all ;  but  we  to-day,  while  unmindful  of 
none,  are  specially  called  to  acknowledge  as  Thy  gift  George  Wash- 
ington. 

In  honor  of  him,  Thy  servant,  the  Nation  of  Thy  planting  and 
of  his  thoughts  and  prayers  has  built  this  Monument,  and  we  to- 
day, in  that  Nation's  behalf,  speak  to  his  God  and  ours  in  prayer 
and  thanks. 

As  we  stand  beneath  the  lofty  height  of  this  memorial  work, 
and  mark  the  symmetry  of  its  form,  we  would  remember  Wash- 
ington's high  character  and  all  the  virtues  which  in  him  builded  up 
the  man. 

A  leader  fearing  God;  a  patriot  unstained  by  self;  a  statesman 
wishing  only  the  right,  he  has  left  us  an  example  for  whose  following 
we  supplicate  Thy  help  for  ourselves  and  for  all  who  are  now,  and 
shall  hereafter  be,  the  instruments  of  Thy  providence  to  this  land  and 
Nation. 

In  so  far  as  he  followed  the  inspirations  of  wisdom  and  of  virtue 
may  we  follow  him,  and  may  his  character  be  to  the  latest  genera- 
tion a  model  foe  the  soldier,  for  the  civilian,  and  for  the  man;  that 
in  our  armies  may  be  trust  in  God,  in  our  civilians  integrity,  and 
among  our  people  that  home  life  which  extorteth  praise;  and  so  all 
those  blessings  which  he  coveted  for  his  people  and  his  kind  be  the 
heritage  of  us  and  of  our  children  forever. 

O  God,  the  high  and  mighty  Ruler  of  the  universe,  bless  to-day 


i  o         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

and  henceforth  Thy  servant  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  all 
others  in  authority. 

To  our  Congress  ever  give  wisdom.  Direct  and  prosper  all  their 
consultations. 

May  our  judges  be  able  men,  such  as  fear  God,  men  of  truth,  gov- 
erned in  judgment  only  by  the  laws. 

May  our  juries  be  incorruptible,  ever  mindful  of  the  solemnity  of 
the  oath  and  of  the  great  interests  depending  on  its  keeping. 

May  no  magistrate  or  officer,  having  rights  to  maintain  or  order  to 
secure,  ever  "  wrest  the  judgment  of  the  poor,"  or  favor  the  rich  man 
in  his  cause. 

O  God,  throughout  our  land  let  amity  continually  reign.  Bind 
ever  the  one  part  to  the  other  part.  Heal  every  wound  opened  by 
human  frailty  or  by  human  wrong.  Let  the  feeling  of  brotherhood 
have  the  mastery  over  all  selfish  ends,  that  with  one  mind  and  one 
heart,  the  North  and  the  South,  and  the  East  and  the  West,  may  seek 
the  good  of  the  common  country,  and  work  out  that  destiny  which 
has  been  allotted  us  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Merciful  Father,  from  whom  "  all  good  thoughts  and  good  desires 
come,"  let  the  principles  of  religion  and  virtue  find  firm  root  and  grow 
among  our  people.  May  they  heed  the  words  of  their  own  Wash- 
ington, and  never  "  indulge  the  supposition  that  morality  can  be 
maintained  without  religion,"  or  forget  that  "  to  political  prosperity, 
religion  and  morality  are  indispensable  supports."  Deepen  in  them 
reverence  for  Thy  character.  Impress  a  sense  of  Thy  power.  Create 
a  desire  for  Thy  favor,  and  let  it  be  realized  that  man's  highest  honor 
is  to  be  a  servant  of  God,  and  that  to  fear  Him  and  keep  His  com- 
mandments is  our  whole  duty. 

O  God,  in  all  our  relations  with  the  nations  of  the  earth  let  honor 
and  justice  rule  us.  May  their  wisdom  be  our  guide  and  our  good 
their  choice.  Emulative  only  in  the  high  purpose  of  bettering  the 
condition  of  man,  may  they  and  we  dwell  together  in  unity  and 
concord. 

Bless  all  efforts  to  widen  the  sphere  of  knowledge,  that  true  wisdom 
may  be  garnered  by  our  people  and  nature  yield  her  secrets  for  man's 
good  and  Thy  glory. 

In  all  our  seminaries  of  learning — our  schools  and  colleges — may 
men  arise  who  shall  be  able  to  hand  down  to  the  generations  follow- 
ing all  that  time  has  given. 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.         r  1 

And  look  upon  our  land.  Give  us  the  rain  and  the  fruitful  season 
Let  no  blight  fall  upon  the  tree,  no  disease  upon  the  cattle,  no  pes- 
tilence upon  man. 

To  honor  Thee,  O  God,  we  this  day  yield  our  homage  and  offer  our 
praise. 

Our  fathers  "  cried  unto  Thee  and  were  delivered." 

"They  trusted  in  Thee  and  were  not  confounded;"  and  we,  their 
children,  gathered  by  this  Monument  to-day,  the  silent  reminder  of 
Thy  gifts,  ask  Thy  blessing,  O  Ruler  of  nations  and  of  men,  in  the 
name  of  Him  through  whom  Thou  hast  taught  us  to  pray;  and  may 
no  private  or  public  sins  cause  Thee  to  hide  Thy  face  from  us  but 
from  them  turn  Thou  us  and  in  our  repentance  forgive. 

To  our  prayers  we  add  our  thanks — our  thanks  for  mercies  many 
and  manifold. 

Thou  didst  not  set  Thy  love  upon  us  and  choose  us  because  we 
were  more  in  number  than  any  people,  but  because  Thou  wouldst 
raise  us  up  to  be  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  and  for  a  light  to  those 
in  darkness  living. 

For  this  great  honor,  O  God,  we  thank  Thee. 

Not  for  our  righteousness  hast  Thou  upheld  us  hitherto  and  saved 
from  those  evils  which  wreck  the  nations,  but  because  Thou  hadst  a 
favor  unto  us. 

For  this  great  mercy,  O  God,  we  thank  Thee. 

Not  solely  through  man's  wisdom  have  the  great  principles  of 
human  liberty  been  embodied  for  our  Government,  and  every  man 
become  the  peer  of  his  fellow-man  before  the  law ;  but  because  Thou 
hast  ordered  it. 

For  this  great  mercy,  O  God,  we  thank  Thee. 

And  now,  our  Father,  let  this  assembly,  the  representatives  of  the 
thousands  whom  Thou  hast  blessed,  go  hence  to-day,  their  duty  done, 
joyful  and  glad  of  heart  for  all  the  goodness  that  the  Lord  hath  done 
for  this  great  nation. 

And  for  the  generations  to  come,  yet  unborn,  may  this  Monument 
which  we  dedicate  to-day  to  the  memory  of  George  Washington  stand 
as  a  witness  for  those  virtues  and  that  patriotism  which,  lived,  shall 
secure  for  them  Liberty  and  Union  forever.  Amen. 


1 2         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument, 

James  C.  Welling,  IX.  D. ,  President  of  Columbian  Uni- 
versity, then  read  the  following  address,  which  had  been 
prepared  by  Hon.  W.  W.  Corcoran,  First  Vice-President  of 
the  Washington  National  Monument  Society: 

ADDRESS     BY     HON.    W.    W.  CORCORAN. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  fame  of  those  who  spend  their  lives  in  the 
service  of  their  country  is  better  preserved  by  the  "unwritten  memo- 
rials of  the  heart  than  by  any  material  monument."  The  saying  is 
pre-eminently  true  of  the  man  whom  the  people  of  these  United  States 
must  forever  hold  in  grateful  veneration  as  the  one  entitled  above  all 
others  to  the  honored  name  of  Pater  Patriae.  Yet  the  instincts  of  the 
heart  do  not  follow  the  impulses  of  our  higher  nature  when,  in  honor 
of  the  mighty  dead,  they  call  for  the  commemorative  column  or  the 
stately  monument,  not,  indeed,  to  preserve  the  name  and  fame  of  an 
illustrious  hero  and  patriot,  but  to  signalize  the  gratitude  of  the  gen- 
erations for  whom  he  labored. 

And  so  on  the  19th  of  December,  1799,  day  after  the  mortal 
remains  of  George  Washington  had  been  committed  to  the  tomb  at 
Mount  Vernon,  John  Marshall,  of  Virginia,  destined  soon  afterward 
to  fill  with  highest  distinction  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  rose  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  moved,  in  words 
penned  by  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  that  a  committee  of  both  Houses 
of  Congress  should  be  appointed  "  to  report  measures  suitable  to  the 
occasion  and  expressive  of  the  profound  sorrow  with  which  Congress 
is  penetrated  on  the  loss  of  a  citizen  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and 
first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen." 

It  is  through  a  long  series  of  years,  and  through  the  ebbs  and  flows 
of  much  divergent  opinion  as  to  the  monumental  forms  in  which  the 
national  homage  should  most  suitably  express  itself,  that  the  Ameri- 
can people  have  watched  and  waited  for  the  grand  consummation 
which  we  are  this  day  met  to  celebrate.  It  is  because  the  stream  of 
the  national  gratitude  was  so  full  and  overflowing  that  again  and  again 
it  has  seemed  to  sweep  away  the  artificial  banks  prepared  to  receive 
it;  but  that,  in  all  the  windings  and  eddies  of  the  stream,  there  has 
been  a  steady  current  of  national  feeling  which  has  set  in  one  given 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  13 

direction,  the  following  historical  memoranda  will  sufficiently  dem- 
onstrate : 

In  pursuance  of  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives on  the  motion  of  John  Marshall,  both  Houses  of  Congress 
passed  the  following  resolution  on  the  24th  of  December,  1799: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  a  marble  monument  be 
erected  by  the  United  States  in  the  Capitol  at  the  City  of  Washington, 
and  that  the  family  of  General  Washington  be  requested  to  permit 
his  body  to  be  deposited  under  it;  and  that  the  monument  be  so 
designed  as  to  commemorate  the  great  events  of  his  military  and 
political  life. 

A  copy  of  this  proceeding  having  been  transmitted  to  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington, she  assented,  in  the  following  touching  terms,  to  so  much  of 
the  resolution  as  called  for  her  concurrence: 

Taught  by  the  great  example  which  I  have  so  long  had  before  me 
never  to  oppose  my  private  wishes  to  the  public  will,  I  need  not,  I 
cannot  say  what  a  sacrifice  of  individual  feeling  I  make  to  a  sense  of 
public  duty. 

The  select  committee  (Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  being  chairman), 
which  was  appointed  to  carry  into  effect  the  foregoing  resolution, 
made  report  on  the  8th  of  May,  1800,  directing  that  a  marble  mon- 
ument be  erected  by  the  United  States,  at  the  capital,  in  honor  of 
General  Washington,  to  commemorate  his  services,  and  to  express 
the  feeling  of  the  American  people  for  their  irreparable  loss;  and 
further  directing  that  a  resolution  of  the  Continental  Congress  adopted 
August  7,  1783,  which  had  ordered  "That  an  equestrian  statue  of 
General  Washington  be  erected  at  the  place  where  the  residence  of 
Congress  shall  be  established"  should  be  carried  into  immediate  exe- 
cution. 

This  latter  resolution  had  directed  that  the  statue  of  Washington 
be  supported  by  a  "  marble  pedestal  on  which  should  be  represented 
four  principal  events  of  the  war  in  which  he  commanded  in  person," 
and  which  should  also  bear  the  following  inscription : 

The  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  ordered  this  statue  to 
be  erected  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1783,  in  honor  of  George  Wash- 
ington, the  illustrious  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Armies  of  the  United 
States  of  America  during  the  war  which  vindicated  and  secured  their 
liberty,  sovereignty,  and  independence. 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  Nationat  Monument. 


Upon  consideration  of  this  resolution,  that  part  relative  to  the  erec- 
tion of  an  equestrian  statue  was  so  amended  as  to  provide  that  a 
"mausoleum  of  American  granite  and  marble,  in  pyramidal  form,  one 
hundred  feet  square  at  the  base,  and  of  a  proportional  height"  should 
be  erected  instead  of  it.  An  appropriation  in  pursuance  of  this  end 
was  not  then  made,  but  at  a  later  day,  on  the  ist  of  January,  1801, 
a  bill  was  passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives  appropriating 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  furtherance  of  this  object. 

In  this  measure  the  Senate  failed  to  concur,  for  reasons  easily  found 
in  the  political  excitements  of  that  day,  while  absorbing  public  ques- 
tions which  ensued  thereafter,  and  which  finally  issued  in  the  war  of 
181 2,  sufficiently  explain  why  the  subject  was  dropped  in  Congress 
for  many  years. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1816,  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia 
instructed  the  Governor  of  that  State  to  open  correspondence  with 
Judge  Bushrod  Washington,  at  that  time  the  proprietor  of  Mount 
Vernon,  with  a  view  to  procure  his  assent  to  the  removal  of  Wash- 
ington's remains  to  Richmond,  that  a  proper  monument  might  there 
be  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  Hero  and  Patriot.  Immediately 
on  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence  in  the  Congress,  then  in  session, 
Hon.  Benjamin  Huger,  of  South  Carolina,  who  had  been  a  member 
of  the  Congress  of  1799,  moved  for  the  appointment  of  a  joint  com- 
mittee of  both  Houses  to  take  action  in  pursuance  of  the  proceedings 
had  at  that  time  of  Washington's  death. 

This  joint  committee  recommended  that  a  receptacle  for  the  re- 
mains of  Washington  should  be  prepared  in  the  foundation  of  the 
Capitol,  and  that  a  monument  should  there  be  erected  to  his  memory. 
But  the  whole  project  fell  through  because,  in  the  mean  time,  Judge 
Washington  had  declined  to  consent  to  the  removal  of  Washington's 
remains,  on  the  ground  that  they  had  been  committed  to  the  family 
vault  at  Mount  Vernon  in  conformity  with  Washington's  express  wish. 

"It  is  his  own  will,"  added  Judge  Washington,  in  replying  to  the 
Governor  of  Virginia,  "  and  that  will  is  to  me  a  law  which  I  dare  not 
disobey." 

To  a  similar  proposition,  as  renewed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United 
"States  in  1832,  Mr.  John  Augustine  Washington,  who  had  then  suc- 
ceeded to  the  possession  of  Mount  Vernon,  made  a  similar  reply, 
and  since  that  date  all  thought  of  removing  the  remains  of  Washing- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.         1  5 

ton  from  their  hallowed  resting  place  to  the  site  of  the  proposed 
National  Monument  has  been  abandoned,  and  properly  abandoned  in 
view  of  the  affecting  natural  considerations  which  had  given  a  deep 
undertone  of  remonstrance  even  to  Mrs.  Washington's  reluctant  as- 
sent, as.  extorted  from  her  by  the  ejaculations  of  the  public  grief  in 
1799. 

It  was  precisely  at  this  stage  of  our  history,  when  all  proceedings 
initiated  in  Congress  had  been  frustrated  by  the  failure  to  combine 
opinions  on  some  preliminary  condition  held  to  be  indispensable, 
that  the  people  of  this  city,  as  if  despairing  of  the  desired  consum- 
mation through  the  concerted  action  of  both  Houses  of  Congress, 
proceeded  to  initiate  measures  of  their  own  looking  in  this  direction. 

In  September,  1833,  a  paragraph  appeared  in  the  National  Intelli- 
gencer of  this  city  calling  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Washington  to 
take  the  matter  in  hand. 

In  response  to  that  call  a  meeting  of  citizens  was  held  at  the  City 
Hall  on  the  26th  of  September,  1833,  at  which  were  present  Daniel 
Brent,  Joseph  Gaies,  James  Kearney,  Joseph  Gales,  jr.,  Peter  Force, 
W.  W.  Seaton,  John  McClelland,  Pishy  Thompson,  Thomas  Carberry, 
George  Watterston,  and  William  Cranch,  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Circuit  Court  of  the  District. 

It  was  at  this  meeting  that  the  Washington  National  Monument 
Society  was  formed,  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall,  then  seventy-eight 
years  of  age,  having  been  elected  its  first  President,  and  Judge  Cranch 
the  first  Vice-President. 

George  Watterston,  who  deserves  to  be  signalized  as  the  originator 
of  the  movement,  was  the  first  secretary,  and  he  served  in  that  ca- 
pacity from  1833  till  his  death  in  1854,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
John  Carroll  Brent,  who,  in  turn,  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  John  B.  Blake, 
the  successor  of  the  latter  being  the  Hon.  Horatio  King,  the  present 
secretary  of  the  Society. 

Upon  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  in  1835,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  presidency  of  the  Society  by  ex-President  James 
Madison. 

The  plan  adopted  by  the  Society  was  to  secure  the  assistance  and 
unite  the  voluntary  efforts  of  the  people  of  the  country  in  erecting  a 
national  monument  to  Washington. 

At  first,  as  if  to  give  emphasis  to  the  popular  aims  of  the  Society, 
all  contributions  were  limited  to  the  annual  sum  of  one  dollar  from 


1 6         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

any  one  person,  the  contributors  becoming,  by  that  act,  members  of 
the  Society.  The  collections  on  this  plan  had  amounted  in  1836  to 
the  sum  of  twenty-eight  thousand  dollars,  which  was  carefully  placed 
at  interest,  the  fund  standing  in  the  names  of  Nathan  Towson, 
Thomas  Munroe,  and  Archibald  Henderson,  as  trustees. 

In  this  year  advertisements  were  published  inviting  designs  for  the 
Monument  from  American  artists,  but  placing  no  limitation  upon  the 
form  of  the  designs.  It  was  recommended,  however,  that  they 
should  "harmoniously  blend  durability,  simplicity,  and  grandeur." 

The  cost  of  the  projected  Monument  was  estimated  at  not  less 
than  one  million  dollars. 

A  great  many  designs  were  submitted,  but  the  one  selected  was 
that  of  Mr.  Robert  Mills,  comprising  in  its  main  features  a  vast  stylo- 
bate  surmounted  by  a  tetrastyle  pantheon,  circular  in  form,  and  with 
an  obelisk  six  hundred  feet  high  rising  from  the  center. 

In  1846  the  restriction  upon  the  subscriptions  was  removed,  and 
in  1847  the  fund  amounted  to  eighty-seven  thousand  dollars. 

Regularly  authorized  and  bonded  collecting  agents  were  appointed 
in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  appeals  were  made  to  the  generosity 
of  the  public. 

Mrs.  James  Madison,  Mrs.  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  Mrs.  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  at  the  request  of  the  Monument  Society,  effected  an 
organization  to  assist  in  collecting  funds  through  the  women  of  the 
country. 

In  November,  1847,  the  Monument  Society  adopted  a  resolution 
that  the  corner-stone  be  laid  on  the  2 2d  of  February,  1848,  provided 
a  suitable  site  could  be  obtained. 

In  January,  1848,  Congress  passed  a  resolution  granting  a  site  on 
any  of  the  unoccupied  public  grounds  of  the  City  of  Washington,  to 
be  selected  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  Washington 
Monument  Society.  The  site  on  Reservation  3  was  accordingly 
selected,  and  title  to  the  land  was  conveyed  to  the  Society.  On  the 
29th  of  January  it  was  decided  to  postpone  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone until  the  4th  of  July,  1848.  Objections  in  the  mean  time  having 
been  made  to  the  plan  for  the  Monument  as  proposed  by  Mr.  Mills, 
the  Society,  pursuant  to  a  report  from  its  committee,  in  the  month  of 
April  of  that  year,  fixed  upon  a  height  of  five  hundred  feet  for  the 
shaft,  leaving  in  abeyance  the  surrounding  pantheon  and  base. 

The  corner-stone  was  laid  in  accordance  with  this  decision  of  the 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


Society  on  the  4th  of  July,  1848,  in  the  presence  of  the  members  of 
the  executive,  legislative,  and  judicial  branches  of  the  Government, 
foreign  ministers  and  officers,  and  a  vast  concourse  of  citizens  from 
all  sections  of  the  Union.  The  ceremonies — Masonic  in  character — 
were  conducted  under  the  direction  of  Hon.  B.  B.  French,  Grand 
Master  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
were  as  interesting  as  they  were  impressive;  the  corner-stone  being 
rested  at  the  northeast  angle  of  the  foundation.  The  gavel  used  in 
this  ceremony  was  the  one  used  by  General  Washington  in  laying 
the  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Poto- 
mac Lodge,  No.  5,  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

The  prayer  of  consecration  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mcjilton, 
and  the  Oration  of  the  day  was  pronounced  by  the  Hon.  Robert  C. 
Winthrop,  then  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  Profoundly 
regretting,  as  we  all  do,  that  this  distinguished  citizen  cannot  be  with 
us  to-day,  because  of  recent  illness,  we  still  sincerely  rejoice  that  he 
has  sent  to  us  the  garland  of  his  commanding  eloquence,  to  be  laid 
on  the  capstone  of  the  Monument,  amid  the  shoutings  of  the  people 
as  they  cry,  "Grace,  grace  unto  it." 

Among  the  guests  on  the  stand  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone 
were  Mrs.  Alexander  Hamilton  (then  ninety-one  years  old),  Mrs. 
Dolly  Paine  Madison,  Mrs.  John  Quincy  Adams,  George  Washing- 
ton Parke  Custis,  Chief  Justice  Taney,  Lewis  Cass,  Martin  Van  Buren, 
Millard  Fillmore,  and  many  others  distinguished  as  well  for  their 
social  eminence  as  for  their  public  renown. 

The  work,  when  once  begun,  progressed  steadily,  until  in  1854  the 
shaft  had  reached  a  height  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  foundation. 

Subsequently,  an  addition  of  four  feet  was  put  upon  the  shaft, 
making  its  total  height  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet,  the  whole  exe- 
cuted at  a  cost  of  about  three  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Society,  as  well  in  its  earlier  as  in  its  later 
history,  blocks  of  stone  for  insertion  in  the  interior  walls  of  the  Monu- 
ment, and  bearing  appropriate  inscriptions,  have  been  contributed  by 
nearly  every  State  and  Territory,  and  by  many  foreign  governments. 

The  treasury  of  the  Society  having  now  been  exhausted,  and  all 
efforts  to  obtain  further  sums  having  proved  unavailing,  the  Society 
presented  a  memorial  to  Congress,  representing  that  they  were  unable 
2  w  M 


1 8         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


to  devise  any  plan  likely  to  succeed,  and,  under  the  circumstances, 
asking  that  Congress  should  take  such  action  as  it  might  deem  proper. 

The  memorial  was  referred  in  the  House  of  Representatives  to  a 
select  committee  of  thirteen,  of  which  Mr.  Henry  May,  of  Maryland, 
was  chairman,  and  this  committee,  on  the  2  2d  of  February,  1855,  made 
to  the  House  an  eloquent  and  able  report,  in  which,  after  a  careful 
examination  of  the  whole  subject,  the  proceedings  of  the  Society  in 
the  past  were  reviewed  and  approved,  and  an  appropriation  of  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  was  recommended  to  be  made  by  Congress 
"on  behalf  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  aid  the  funds"  of  the 
Society ;  but  at  this  time  complications  of  a  political  nature  arose  in 
the  management  of  the  Society,  the  appropriation  recommended  was 
not  made,  and,  for  the  same  reason,  a  stop  was  put  to  the  active 
prosecution  of  the  work  on  the  Monument  for  a  number  of  years. 

On  the  26th  of  February,  1859,  tne  Congress  gave  to  the  Wash- 
ington National  Monument  Society  a  formal  charter  of  incorporation, 
the  incorporators  being  Winfield  Scott,  Walter  Jones,  John  J.  Abert, 
James  Kearney,  Thomas  Carberry,  Peter  Force,  William  A.  Bradley, 
Philip  R.  Fendall,  Walter  Lennox,  Matthew  F.  Maury,  Thomas 
Blagden,  J.  B.  H.  Smith,  W.  W.  Seaton,  Elisha  Whittlesey,  B.  Ogle 
Tayloe,  Thomas  H.  Crawford,  W.  W.  Corcoran,  and  John  Carroll 
Brent. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  new  board  was  held  in  the  City  Hall, 
March  22,  1859,  at  which  meeting  President  Buchanan  presided. 
The  Society  again  went  vigorously  to  work,  issuing  public  appeals, 
making  collections  at  the  polls,  and  employing  every  means  to  secure 
funds  for  the  completion  of  the  Monument.  But  the  condition  of  the 
country  during  the  decade  from  i860  to  1870  rendered  their  efforts 
futile.  It  was  not  until  the  year  1873  that  the  Society  again  pre- 
sented a  memorial  to  Congress,  recommending  the  Monument  to  its 
favorable  consideration. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Society  continued  their  appeals  to  the  country 
for  aid  according  to  a  plan  which  contemplated  the  raising,  by  sub- 
scriptions from  all  chartered  organizations,  of  a  certain  gross  sum 
deemed  sufficient  to  complete  the  Monument,  the  payment  of  the 
subscriptions  into  the  hands  of  the  treasurer  of  the  Society  being 
contingent  upon  the  pledging  of  the  entire  sum.  A  measurable 
success  met  the  efforts  of  the  Society  in  this  direction,  a  very  con- 
siderable sum  having  been  promised  by  responsible  bodies,  and  the 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  ig 

Society  desisted  from  these  efforts  only  when,  on  the  2d  of  August, 
1876,  an  act  of  Congress,  appropriating  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars to  continue  the  construction  of  the  Monument,  had  become  a  law 
of  the  land. 

This  measure  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  Hon.  John  Sherman, 
of  Ohio,  who  properly  presides  at  the  high  festival  we  hold  this  day  at 
the  base  of  the  finished  Monument.  On  the  5th  of  July,  1876  (the 
date  is  significant),  he  moved  the  adoption  of  a  joint  resolution  de- 
claring, after  an  appropriate  preamble,  that  the  Senate  and  House  oi 
Representatives  in  Congress  assembled,  «  in  the  name  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  of  the 
national  existence,  do  assume  and  direct  the  completion  of  the  Wash- 
ington Monument,  in  the  city  of  Washington."  A  bill  m  pursuance 
of  this  joint  resolution  was  passed  unanimously  in  the  Senate  on  the 
2"d  of  July,  in  the  House  of  Representatives  without  opposition  on 
the  27th  of  July,  and  was  signed  by  President  Grant  on  the  2d  of 

August,  1876.  .  ,        .  , 

By  this  act,  which  gave  a  Congressional  expression  to  the  national 
gratitude,  a  Joint  Commission  was  created,  to  consist  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  the  Supervising  Architect  of  the  Treasury  De- 
partment, the  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  the  Chief  of  Engineers  of  the 
United  States  Army,  and  the  First  Vice-President  of  the  Washington 
National  Monument  Society,  under  whose  direction  and  supervision 
the  construction  of  the  Monument  was  placed. 

According  to  a  provision  of  the  same  act,  the  Washington  National 
Monument  Society  transferred  and  conveyed  to  the  United  States  in 
due  form  all  the  property  rights  and  easements  belonging  to  it  m  the 
Monument,  the  conveyance  being  legally  recorded  in  the  proper  court 

register.  . 

By  a  further  clause  of  this  same  act  it  was  provided  :  lhat  nothing 
therein  should  be  so  construed  as  to  prohibit  said  Society  from  con- 
tinuing its  organization  «  for  the  purpose  of  soliciting  and  collecting 
money  and  material  from  the  States,  associations,  and  the  people  111 
aid  of  the  completion  of  the  Monument,  and  acting  in  an  advisory 
and  co-operative  capacity"  with  the  Commission  named  in  the  said 
act  until  the  completion  and  dedication  of  the  work. 

Upon  the  death  of  President  Madison,  in  1836,  the  constitution  of 
the  Society  had  been  so  amended  as  to  provide  that  the  President  of 
the  United  States  should  be  ex-officio  president  of  the  Society.  An- 


20         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

drew  Jackson  was  the  first  ex-officio  president.  The  mayors  of  Wash- 
ington, and,  at  a  later  day,  the  Governors  of  the  several  States  were 
made  ex-officio  vice-presidents. 

The  mayors  of  Washington  thus  connected  with  the  work  were 
John  P.  Van  Ness,  William  A.  Bradley,  Peter  Force,  W.  W.  Seaton, 
Walter  Lennox,  John  W.  Maury,  John  T.  Towers,  William  B.  Ma- 
gruder,  Richard  Wallach,  James  G.  Berret,  Sayles  J.  Bowen,  and 
Matthew  G.  Emery. 

In  the  roll  of  the  Society's  membership  the  following  names  are 
recorded : 

Chief  Justice  John  Marshall,  Roger  C.  Weigh tman,  Commodore 
John  Rodgers,  General  Thomas  S.  Jesup,  George  Bomford,  M.  St. 
Clair  Clarke,  Samuel  H.  Smith,  John  McClelland,  William  Cranch, 
William  Brent,  George  Watterston,  Nathan  Towson,  Archibald  Hen- 
derson, Thomas  Munroe,  Thomas  Carberry,  Peter  Force,  ex-Presi- 
dent James  Madison,  John  P.  Van  Ness,  William  Ingle,  William  L. 
Brent,  General  Alexander  Macomb,  John  J.  Abert,  Philip  R.  Fen- 
dall,  Maj.  Gen.  Winfield  Scott,  John  Carter,  General  Walter  Jones, 
Walter  Lennox,  T.  Hartley  Crawford,  M.  F.  Maury,  U.  S.  Navy, 

B.  Ogle  1  ayloe,  Thomas  Blagden,  John  Carroll  Brent,  James  Kear- 
ney, Elisha  Whittlesey,  W.  W.  Seaton,  J.  Bayard  H.  Smith,  W.  W. 
Corcoran,  John  P.  Ingle,  James  M.  Carlisle,  Dr.  John  B.  Blake,  Dr. 
William  Jones,  William  L.  Hodge,  Dr.  James  C.  Hall,  William  B. 
Todd,  James  Dunlop,  General  U.  S.  Grant,  George  W.  Riggs, 
Henry  D.  Cooke,  Peter  G.  Washington,  William  J.  McDonald,  John 
M.  Brodhead,  General  William  T.  Sherman,  Dr.  Charles  H.  Nichols, 
D.  A.  Watterston,  Alexander  R.  Shepherd,  Fitzhugh  Coyle,  James 
G.  Berret,  J.  C.  Kennedy,  William  A.  Richardson,  General  O.  E. 
Babcock,  Edward  Clark,  Rear- Admiral  L.  M.  Powell,  Charles  F. 
Stansbury,  Frederick  D.  Stuart,  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  Joseph  Henry, 
General  William  McKee  Dunn,  John  C.  Harkness,  Horatio  King, 
Daniel  B.  Clarke,  George  W.  McCrary,  Dr.  Joseph  M.  Toner,  James 

C.  Welling,  George  Bancroft,  Rear-Admiral  C.  R.  P.  Rodgers. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  say  that  I  should  be  strangely  wanting  to 
my  sense  of  the  proprieties  belonging  to  this  time  and  place,  if,  stand- 
ing here  as  the  representative  of  the  Washington  National  Monument 
Society,  I  should  fail  in  this  high  presence  and  at  this  solemn  mo- 
ment to  give  emphatic  expression  to  the  profound  gratitude  which  is- 
due  from  the  Society  to  the  Legislative  and  Executive  Departments 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument,         2  1 

of  the  Government,  who  have  brought  to  a  successful  completion 
ihe  patriotic  work  which  the  Society  was  not  able  to  accomplish. 

For  the  praise  of  the  accomplished  engineer  of  the  Army,  Col. 
Thomas  Lincoln  Casey,  who  has  here  built  so  solidly  and  so  skill- 
fully, we.  have  only  to  look  up  to  the  finished  work  of  his  scientific 
hand,  as  that  work  stands  before  us  to-day  in  the  strong  and  even 
poise  of  its  well-balanced  architecture. 

The  heraldic  ensign  of  Washington  bore  for  its  motto  the  words 
Exitns  acta  probat,  "Their  issue  puts  actions  to  the  proof."  The 
actions  of  Washington,  as  put  to  the  proof  of  time,  have  issued  in  a 
great  nation  made  free  and  independent  under  his  military  leader- 
ship; in  a  constitutional  polity,  based  on  liberty  regulated  by  law,  as 
devised  by  the  convention  of  statesmen  over  whose  deliberations  he 
presided;  in  the  powerful  Federal  Government  whose  energies  he 
first  set  in  motion  from  the  high  seat  of  its  Chief  Executive;  in  the 
affectionate  and  grateful  recollection  of  more  than  fifty  millions  of 
people  who  to-day  find  in  his  name  and  fame  their  choicest  national 
legacy;  and,  finally,  in  the  veneration  and  homage  of  all  mankind, 
who,  to  the  remotest  ends  of  the  world,  have  learned  to  honor  in  our 
illustrious  countryman  the  best  as  well  as  the  greatest  of  the  sons  of 
men. 

Surely,  then,  it  is  glory  enough  for  the  Washington  National  Monu- 
ment Society  that  its  pious  labors,  as  put  to  the  proof  of  time,  have 
issued  in  the  majestic  structure  which  stands  before  us  to-day,  and  it 
is  glory  enough  for  the  Legislative  and  Executive  Departments  of 
the  Government  that  in  "assuming  and  directing  the  completion  of 
the  Monument"  on  the  foundations  laid  by  the  people,  they  have  at 
once  redeemed  a  sacred  national  pledge,  and  fulfilled  a  sacred  na- 
tional duty,  by  giving  to  this  great  obelisk  the  culmination  and  crown 
with  which  it  towers  above  earth  and  soars  heavenward,  like  the  fame 
it  commemorates. 

THE    MASONIC  CEREMONIES. 

The  Masonic  dedicatory  ceremonies  were  then  performed  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia, Myron  M.  Parker,  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master.  Pie  was 
assisted  by  Thomas  P.  Chifelle,  R.  W.  D.  G.  Master;  Jose  M.  Yznaga, 
R.  W.  S.  Grand  Warden;   Jesse  W.  Lee,  jr.,  R.  W.  J.  G.  Warden; 


2  2 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monutnent. 


William  R.  Singleton,  R.  W.  G.  Secretary;  C.  C.  Duncanson,  R.W.  G. 
Treasurer;  Joseph  Hamacher,  W.  G  Lecturer;  C.  B.  Smith,  Rev. 
and  W.  G.  Chaplain;  H.  Dingman,  W.  G.  Marshal;  Emmett  C.  El- 
more, W.  S.  G.  Deacon;  Thomas  F.  Gibbs,  W.  J.  G.  Deacon;  Orville 
Drown,  W.  G.  Sword  Bearer;  O  S.  Firmin,W.  G.  Pursuivant;  Frank 
N.  Carver,  VV.  S.  G.  Steward;  Edward  Kern,  W.  J.  G.  Steward,  and 
Thomas  J.  Edwards,  Grand  Tiler. 

The  following  ritual,  which  is  somewhat  abridged  from  that  used 
by  the  Order  on  similar  occasions,  was  then  recited. 

Grand  Master.  R.  W.  Deputy  Grand  Master,  what  is  the  proper 
implement  of  your  office? 

Deputy  Grand  Master.  The  square,  Most  Worshipful. 

Grand  Master.  What  are  its  moral  and  Masonic  uses  ? 

Deputy  Grand  Master.  To  square  our  actions  by  the  square  of 
virtue,  and  prove  our  work  when  finished. 

Grand  Master.  Have  you  applied  the  square  to  the  Obelisk,  and 
is  the  work  squared  ? 

Deputy  Grand  Master.  I  have,  and  I  find  the  corners  to  be 
square;  the  workmen  have  done  their  duty. 

Grand  Master.  R.W.  Senior  Grand  Warden,  what  is  the  proper 
implement  of  your  office  ? 

Senior  Grand  Warden.  The  level,  Most  Worshipful. 

Grand  Master.  What  is  its  Masonic  use  ? 

Senior  Grand  Warden.  Morally,  it  reminds  us  of  equality,  and 
its  use  is  to  prove  horizontals. 

Grand  Master.  Have  you  applied  it,  and  are  the  courses  level? 

Senior  Grand  Warden.  I  have,  and  I  find  the  courses  to  be 
level;  the  workmen  have  done  their  duty. 

Grand  Master.  R.  W.  Junior  Grand  Warden,  what  is  the  proper 
implement  of  your  office  ? 

Junior  Grand  Warden.  The  plumb,  Most  Worshipful. 

Grand  Master.  What  is  its  Masonic  use  ? 

Junior  Grand  Warden.  Morally,  it  teaches  rectitude  of  conduct, 
and  we  use  it  to  try  perpendiculars. 

Grand  Master.  Have  you  applied  it,  and  have  the  walls  been 
properly  erected  ? 

Junior  Grand  Warden.  I  have  applied  the  plumb,  and  the  walls 
have  been  skillfully  erected  according  to  rule ;  the  workmen  have 
done  their  duty. 

Grand  Master.  The  several  grand  officers  having  reported  that 
this  structure  has  been  erected  by  the  square,  the  level,  and  the 
plumb,  the  corner-stone  of  which  having  been  laid  July  4,  1848,  by 
the  Grand  Master  of  Masons  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  I  now,  as 
the  Grand  Master,  do  pronounce  this  Obelisk  to  have  been  mechan- 
ically completed. 

[Junior  Grand  Warden  presented  the  golden  vessel  of  corn.) 

Grand  Junior  Warden.  M.  W.  Grand  Master,  it  has  been  the 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  23 


immemorial  custom  to  scatter  corn  as  an  emblem  of  nourishment,  L 
therefore  present  you  with  this  golden  vessel  of  corn. 

Grand  Master.  I  therefore  now  scatter  this  the  very  corn  which 
was  similarly  used  on  the  22d  of  February,  i860,  at  the  dedication 
of  the  equestrian  statue  of  Washington,  at  the  Circle  in  this  city.  I  n 
the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah,  to  whom  be  honor  and  glory,  I  now 
invoke  a  continuation  of  the  great  prosperity,  and  all  those  blessings 
which  were  then  invoked  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  this 
structure,  July  4,  1848,  and  which  have  been  ever  since  unceasingly 
bestowed  upon  the  inhabitants  of  this  city. 

(Senior  Grand  Warden  presented  the  silver  vessel  of  wine.) 

Senior  Grand  Warden.  M.  W.  Grand  Master,  wine,  the  emblem 
of  refreshment,  having  been  used  mystically  by  our  ancient  brethren, 
i  present  you  with  this  silver  vessel  of  wine. 

Grand  Master.  In  the  name  of  the  Holy  Saints  John,  I  pour  out 
this  wine  to  virtue ;  and  may  the  Great  Moral  Governor  of  the  Uni- 
verse bless  this  whole  people,  and  cause  them  to  be  distinguished 
for  every  virtue,  as  they  are  for  their  greatness. 

(Deputy  Grand  Master  prese?ited  the  silver  vessel  of  oil.) 

Deputy  Grand  Master.  M.  W.  Grand  Master,  I  present  to  you, 
to  be  used  according  to  ancient  custom,  this  silver  vessel  of  oil. 

Grand  Master.  I  pour  out  this  oil,  an  emblem  of  joy,  that  joy 
which  should  animate  the  bosom  of  every  Mason,  on  the  completion 
of  this  Monument  to  our  distinguished  brother,  George  Washington. 


ADDRESS    BY    GRAND    MASTER    MYRON    M.  PARKER. 

It  is  eminently  fitting,  upon  an  occasion  like  the  present,  that  we, 
as  Masons,  should  associate  with  these  ceremonies  certain  historic 
relics  with  which  General  Washington  was  intimately  connected, 
some  of  them  over  a  century  ago. 

This  gavel,  prepared  for  the  express  purpose,  was  presented  to 
Washington  and  used  by  him  as  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
also  as  Grand  Master  pro  tempore  in  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Capitol  of  the  Nation  on  the  18th  day  of  September,  1793.  Imme- 
diately thereafter  he  presented  it  to  Potomac  Lodge,  No.  9,  in  whose 
possession  it  has  ever  since  remained.  It  was  used  in  laying  the 
corner-stone  of  this  Obelisk,^ July  4,  1848.  Also  the  corner-stone  of 
the  equestrian  statue  of  Washington  at  the  Circle,  and  at  its  dedica- 
tion, February  22,  i860.  It  was  likewise  used  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  extension  of  the  Capitol,  July  4,  1851;  also  by 
the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia  at  the  laying  of 


24 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


the  corner-stone  of  the  Yorktown  Monument,  October  18,  1881,  and 
at  many  other  public  buildings  in  various  States. 

Here  behold  the  sacred  volume,  belonging  to  Fredericksburg 
Lodge,  No.  4,  of  Virginia,  upon  which  he  took  his  first  vows  to 
Masonry,  November  4,  1752,  and  here  the  constitution  of  that  lodge 
signed  by  him. 

Here  the  sacred  book,  belonging  to  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  1,  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  upon  which,  on  the  30th  day  of  April,  1789, 
he  took  the  oath  of  office  as  the  first  President  of  the  United  States. 

Here  the  great  light  belonging  to  Alexandria  Washington  Lodge, 
No.  22,  of  Alexandria,  Va.,  upon  which  he,  as  the  Worshipful  Master 
of  that  lodge,  received  the  vows  of  the  initiates  made  by  him. 

This  is  the  apron  worn  by  him,  which  was  wrought  by  Madame 
La  Fayette,  and  presented  to  him  by  that  noble  lady,  the  wife  of  the 
distinguished  General  La  Fayette,  Washington's  compatriot,  friend, 
and  Masonic  brother. 

This  golden  urn  contains  a  lock  of  Washington's  hair,  which  was 
presented  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  in  1800,  by  Mrs. 
Washington,  and  has  been  transmitted  by  every  Grand  Master  of 
that  Grand  Lodge  to  his  successor  immediately  after  his  installation. 

This  lesser  light  is  one  of  the  three  candies  which  was  borne  in 
Washington's  funeral  procession,  by  Alexandria  Washington  Lodge, 
No.  22,  and  was  taken  into  the  first  tomb  of  Washington,  at  Mount 
Vernon,  where,  on  December  18,  1799,  his  mortal  remains  were  de- 
posited. 

Having  thus  briefly  referred  to  a  few  of  the  historical  relics  with 
which  Brother  George  Washington  was  associated,  it  is  proper  that 
as  Grand  Master  I  should  advert  for  a  few  moments  to  his  life  as  a 
Freemason,  leaving  all  other  phases  to  be  eulogized  by  the  distin- 
guished gentlemen  who  are  to  conclude  these  ceremonies  at  the 
Capitol. 

George  Washington's  initiation  into  Masonry  was  during  his  mi- 
nority, and  was  had  under  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland, 
which  admits  minors  of  eighteen  to  its  mysteries.  He  was  made  a 
Fellow  Craft  March  3,  and  a  Master  Mason  August  4,  1753.  While 
Worshipful  Master  of  Alexandria  Lodge  he  received  the  Royal  Arch 
degrees,  according  to  the  custom  of  those  days,  as  a  compliment  to 
the  Master. 

When  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army,  Washington  occupied 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  25 

the  chief  place  in  the  Masonic  procession,  on  the  occasion  of  St. 
John's  (Evangelist)  day,  1778,  at  Philadelphia. 

It  was  after  he  had  been  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  thai 
our  illustrious  Brother  received  from  Edmund  Randolph  (Governor 
of  Virginia),  as  Grand  Master,  his  commission  as  the  first  Master  of 
Alexandria  Lodge,  No.  22,  of  Virginia. 

When  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia  was  organized  Washington 
was  elected  Grand  Master,  an  honor  he  was  compelled  to  decline, 
he  not  having  at  that  time  served  as  master  of  a  lodge.  In  1780 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  unanimously  nominated  General 
Washington  as  Grand  Master  of  Masons  of  the  United  States,  an  office 
to  which  he  would  have  been  elected  had  not  the  sentiment  and 
policy  of  Masonry  at  that  time  been  opposed  to  a  National  Grand 
Lodge.  From  the  latest  writings  of  our  distinguished  Brother  we 
find  evidence  of  his  love  for  and  devotion  to  the  principles  of  Ma- 
sonry. On  the  2d  day  of  May,  1791,  he  wrote  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
South  Carolina  that  he  "recognized  with  pleasure  "  his  "  relations  to 
the  brethren  "  whose  principles  "  lead  to  purity  of  morals  and  benefi- 
cence of  action."  Still  later,  in  1793,  he  wrote  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Massachusetts,  in  response  to  its  dedication  to  him  of  its  "  Book  of 
Constitution,"  that  it  is  "pleasing  to  know  that  the  milder  virtues  of 
the  heart  are  highly  respected  by  the  society  whose  liberal  principles 
are  founded  on  the  immutable  laws  of  truth  and  justice."  Again,  he 
wrote  King  David's  Lodge,  of  Rhode  Island,  that  Masonry  promotes 
"  private  virtue  and  public  prosperity,"  and  that  he  should  "always 
be  happy  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  society,  and  to  be  consid- 
ered by  them  a  deserving  brother." 

In  April,  1798,  not  three  years  before  his  death,  he  wrote  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  :  "  My  attachment  to  the  societ  y  will 
dispose  me  always  to  contribute  my  best  endeavors  to  preserve  the 
honor  and  interest  of  the  Craft." 

November  8,  1799,  Washington  wrote  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mary- 
land, that  "  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  Freemasonry  are  founded 
in  benevolence  and  to  be  exercised  for  the  good  of  mankind." 

General  Washington  never  forgot  Masonry  when  a  soldier.  He 
encouraged  and  visited  camp  lodges  and  participated  in  their  labor, 
frequently  officiating  as  master.  It  was  at  the  old  Freeman's  tavern, 
on  the  green  of  Morristown,  N.  J.,  in  1777,  that  General  Washington 
himself  made  General  La  Fayette  a  Freemason.     Upon  one  occasion, 


26         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

a  detachment  of  the  American  Army  overcoming  a  British  force, 
captured  from  them  the  working  tools,  jewels,  and  clothing  of  a  mil- 
itary lodge.  General  Washington,  upon  learning  this,  ordered  res- 
toration, declaring  that  "  he  waged  no  war  against  philanthropy 
and  benevolence." 

I  have  dwelt  thus  somewhat  at  length  to  show  that  General  Wash- 
ington was  devoted  to  the  humane  principles  of  Freemasonry  from 
his  minority  to  his  death,  in  public  and  private  life,  and  to  show  that 
it  is  especially  appropriate  for  the  Masons  of  this  country  to  partici- 
pate in  the  imposing  ceremonies  of  to-day.  This  ceremony  is  not 
ecclesiastical.  It  is  the  growth  of  a  sentiment  along  the  ages,  and 
as  such  will  command  the  respect  and  admiration  of  mankind  long 
after  this  Monument  shall  have  crumbled  to  the  dust.  Thus  we  find 
that  the  immortal  Washington,  himself  a  Freemason,  devoted  Ins 
hand,  his  heart,  his  sacred  honor,  to  the  cause  of  freedom  of  con- 
science, of  speech,  and  of  action,  and  from  his  successful  leading  has 
arisen  this  Nation.  To  him  and  the  memory  of  his  deeds,  a  grateful 
people  have  erected  this  memorial  in  the  capital  which  he  founded, 
and  which  will  bear  his  name  to  remotest  ages;  a  monument  tower- 
ing above  other  monuments  as  he  towered  above  other  men. 

Grand  Chaplain.  May  the  Lord,  the  giver  of  every  perfect  gift, 
bless  all  who  are  assembled,  and  grant  to  each  one,  in  needful  supply, 
the  corn  of  nourishment,  wine  of  refreshment,  and  oil  of  joy  :  Amen  ! 
Amen !    Amen ! 

The  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  and  the  Pirethren  in  unison 
responded  :  "So  mote  it  be  :  Amen  !  " 

Col.  Thomas  Lincoln  Casey,  of  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S. 
Army,  the  Chief  Engineer  and  Architect  of  the  Monument, 
then  formally  delivered  the  structure  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  following  words  : 

REMARKS    OF  COL.    THOMAS     LINCOLN     CASEY,  CHIEF 
ENGINEER. 

Mr.  Chairman:  The  duty  has  been  assigned  me  of  presenting  the 
part  taken  by  the  General  Government  in  the  construction  of  this 
Monument,  and  of  delivering  it  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.         2  7 


You  have  heard  from  the  First  Vice-President  of  the  Washington 
National  Monument  Society  of  the  part  taken  by  that  distinguished 
body  in  the  inception  and  partial  construction  of  the  Monument  and 
of  its  appeals,  both  to  the  people  of  the  country  and  to  Congress,  for 
assistance  in  the  great  work  so  bravely  undertaken. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  results  of  these  appeals,  no  reall) 
effective  proceedings  were  had  in  Congress,  having  in  view  the  com 
pletion  of  the  Monument,  until  July  5,  1876.  On  that  day,  Mr. 
Chairman,  you  introduced  in  the  Senate  a  concurrent  resolution,  re- 
ferring in  terms  to  the  Centennial  of  our  National  Independence  and 
to  the  influence  of  George  Washington  in  securing  that  independ- 
ence, and  closing  as  follows : 

Therefore,  as  a  mark  of  our  sense  of  honor  due  his  name  and  his 
compatriots  and  associates,  our  Revolutionary  fathers,  we,  the  Senate 
and  House  of  ^Representatives,  in  Congress  assembled,  in  the  name 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  at  this,  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century  of  national  existence,  do  assume  and  direct  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Washington  Monument  in  the  City  of  Washington,  and 
instruct  the  committees  on  appropriations  of  the  respective  Houses 
to  propose  suitable  provisions  of  law  to  carry  this  resolution  into 
effect. 

Within  two  days  from  its  introduction  this  resolution  was  passed 
unanimously  by  both  Houses,  and,  in  obedience  to  its  instructions,  a 
bill  for  the  completion  of  the  Washington  Monument  was  at  once 
reported  in  the  House  of  "Representatives,  and  became  a  law  August 
2,  1876.  That  statute  appropriated  two  hundred  thousand  dollars 
for  the  completion  of  the  Monument,  to  be  expended  in  four  equal 
annual  installments ;  provided  for  a  transfer  to  the  United  States  of 
the  ownership  of  the  portion  of  the  shaft  then  built,  and  created  a 
Joint  Commission  to  direct  and  supervise  the  construction  of  the 
Monument,  which  Commission  was  to  make  a  report  each  year  to 
Congress.  The  Commission  was  to  consist  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Supervising  Architect  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment, the  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  the  Chief  of  Engineers  of  the 
United  States  Army,  and  the  First  Vice-President  of  the  Washing- 
ton National  Monument  Society. 

The  act  further  required,  "That,  prior  to  commencing  any  work 
on  the  Monument,  an  examination  should  be  made  of  its  foundation, 
in  order  to  thoroughly  ascertain  whether  it  was  sufficient  to  sustain 
the  weight  of  the  completed  structure,  and,  if  the  same  should  be 


28         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


found  insufficient,  then  the  further  continuance  of  the  work  was  not 
to  be  authorized  by  anything  contained  m  the  act  until  the  further 
action  of  Congress." 

From  the  early  days  of  the  construction  there  had  been  apprehen- 
sions that  the  foundation  was  not  of  sufficient  size  to  sustain  the 
column  if  carried  to  the  height  originally  designed.  These  appre- 
hensions, which,  just  after  the  laying  of  the  cornor-stone,  were  shared 
by  but  few  persons,  had,  as  far  back  as  1853,  become  wide-spread,  and 
were  entertained  by  many  intelligent  people.  In  1873,  after  a  lapse 
of  twenty  years,  the  question  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  foundation  was 
again  the  subject  of  discussion,  at  this  time  by  a  committee  of  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

This  was  the  select  committee  of  thirteen,  created  to  consider  the 
practicability  of  completing  the  Washington  Monument  by  the  time 
of  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
July  4,  1876.  During  their  deliberations,  they  caused  special  investi- 
gations to  be  made  concerning  the  stability  of  the  existing  structure. 
These  investigations  and  the  reports  were  made  by  capable  engineers, 
and  the  conclusions  drawn  by  them  were  to  the  effect  that  the  exist- 
ing foundation  should  not  be  subjected  to  any  additional  load  what- 
ever; in  other  words,  that  it  would  be  unsafe  to  increase  the  height 
of  the  incomplete  shaft. 

It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  the  further  examinations  required 
by  the  act  of  August,  1876,  would  disclose  anything  different  as  to 
the  condition  of  the  foundation,  nevertheless  the  Joint  Commission 
secured  the  services  of  another  board  of  experienced  engineers,  who, 
after  careful  borings,  examinations,  and  tests  of  the  earth  of  the  site, 
and  due  deliberation,  reported  on  the  10th  of  April  and  15th  of  June, 
1877,  that  the  existing  foundation  was  of  insufficient  spread  and  depth 
to  sustain  the  weight  of  the  completed  structure,  but  that  it  was  feasi- 
ble to  bring  the  foundation  to  the  required  stability  by  hooping-in  the 
earth  upon  which  it  stood.  These  opinions  were  concurred  in  by  most 
of  the  engineers  who  considered  the  subject,  while  they  were  quite 
as  unanimous  in  the  belief  that  to  excavate  beneath  and  put  a  new 
foundation  under  the  old  one  would  be  hazardous  in  the  extreme. 

On  the  8th  of  November,  1877,  the  Joint  Commission  made  its  first 
report  to  Congress,  announcing  the  decision  of  the  engineers,  and  this 
report  led  to  the  enactment  of  the  joint  resolution  of  June  14,  1878, 
authorizing  the  Joint  Commission  to  expend  the  sum  of  thirty-six 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  20 

thousand  dollars,  if  they  deemed  it  advisable,  in  giving  greater  sta- 
bility to  the  foundation. 

Two  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  creation  of  the  Joint  Com 
mission.  They  at  once  secured  the  services  of  an  engineer  and  his 
assistant,  and  directed  the  chief  to  prepare  a  project  for  strengthening 
the  existing  foundation  so  that  the  Obelisk  could  be  carried  to  the  de 
sired  height.  This  project,  which  necessarily  included  the  form  and 
dimensions  of  the  finished  Monument,  was  completed  and  approved 
October  1,  1878,  and  active  operations  were  immediately  com 
menced.  The  project  contemplated  first,  tf.ie  digging  away  of  the 
earth  from  around  and  beneath  the  outer  portions  of  the  old  founda 
tion  and  replacing  it  with  Portland  cement  concrete  masonry;  then, 
in  removing  a  portion  of  the  old  masonry  foundation  itself  from  be- 
neath the  walls  of  the  shaft  and  substituting  therefor  a  continuous 
Portland  cement  concrete  enlargement  extending  out  over  the  new 
subfoundation.  The  weakness  of  the  old  foundation  lay  in  the:  fact 
that  it  was  too  shallow  and  covered  an  area  of  ground  insufficient 
to  sustain  the  pressure  of  the  completed  work.  The  strengthening 
consisted  in  the  enlargement  of  the  foundation  by  spreading  it  over 
a  greater  area  and  sinking  it  a  greater  depth  into  the  earth.  The 
work  of  excavating  beneath  the  Monument  was  commenced  January 
28,  1879,  and  the  new  foundation  was  finished  May  29,  1880.  It 
was  impossible  to  properly  enlarge  the  foundation  with  the  funds 
granted  in  the  joint  resolution  of  June  14,  1878.  A  careful  estimate 
of  the  cost,  which  accompanied  the  original  project,  amounted  to 
about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  accordingly  by  the  joint 
resolution  of  June  27,  1879,  a  further  sum  of  sixty-four  thousand  dol- 
lars was  granted  to  complete  the  foundation.  This  proved  to  be 
more  than  sufficient,  as  the  foundation  cost  but  ninety-four  thousand 
four  hundred  and  seventy-four  dollars. 

As  completed,  the  new  foundation  covers  two  and  a  half  times  as 
much  area  and  extends  thirteen  and  a  half  feet  deeper  than  the  old 
one.  Indeed,  the  bottom  of  the  new  work  is  only  two  feet  above  the 
level  of  high  tides  in  the  Potomac,  while  the  water  which  permeates 
the  earth  of  the  Monument  lot  stands  six  inches  above  this  bottom. 
The  foundation  now  rests  upon  a  bed  of  fine  sand  some  two  feet  in 
thickness,  and  this  sand  stratum  rests  upon  a  bed  of  bowlders  and 
gravel.  Borings  have  been  made  in  this  gravel  deposit  for  a  depth 
of  over  eighteen  feet  without  passing  through  it,  and  so  uniform  is 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


the  character  of  the  material  upon  which  the  foundation  rests  that 
the  settlements  of  the  several  corners  of  the  shaft  have  differed  from 
each  other  by  only  the  smallest  subdivisions  of  the  inch.  The  pres- 
sures on  the  earth  beneath  the  foundation  are  nowhere  greater  than 
the  experiences  of  years  have  shown  this  earth  to  be  able  to  sustain, 
while  the  strength  of  the  masonry  in  the  foundation  itself  is  largely 
in  excess  of  the  strains  brought  upon  it.  The  stability  of  this  base 
is  assured  against  all  natural  causes  except  earthquakes  or  the  wash- 
ing out  of  the  sand  bed  beneath  the  foundation. 

Having  enlarged  the  foundation,  the  work  upon  the  shaft  was 
speedily  commenced.  The  summer  of  1880  was  mostly  taken  up  in 
building  an  iron  frame  within  the  shaft,  preparing  the  hoisting  ma- 
chinery, and  collecting  the  granite  and  marble  needed  in  the  construc- 
tion. The  first  marble  block  was  set  in  the  shaft  on  the  7th  of  Au- 
gust, 1880,  and  the  last  stone  was  placed  at  the  level  five  hundred  on 
the  9th  of  August,  1884,  thus  consuming  four  seasons  in  finishing  the 
shaft.  The  topmost  stone  of  the  pyramidion  was  set  on  the  6th  of 
December,  1884,  thus  essentially  completing  the  Obelisk.  Minor 
additions  and  modifications  in  the  details  of  the  interior  of  the  shaft 
are  still  to  be  made,  and  some  filling,  grading,  and  planting  are  required 
for  the  terrace,  but  no  work  is  proposed  that  can  change  the  existing 
appearance  or  proportions  of  the  Monument. 

The  masonry  constructed  by  the  Government  is  the  best  known  to 
the  engineering  art,  and  the  weight  is  so  distributed  that,  subjected  to 
a  wind  pressure  of  one  hundred  pounds  per  square  foot  on  any  face, 
corresponding  to  a  wind  velocity  of  one  hundred  and  forty-five  miles 
per  hour,  the  Monument  would  have  a  large  factor  of  safety  against 
overturning.  The  marble  is  of  the  same  kind  as  that  in  the  mono- 
lithic columns  of  the  Capitol,  has  a  fine  grain,  is  close  and  compact 
in  texture,  free  from  disintegrating  impurities,  and  in  this  climate  will 
endure  for  ages. 

There  is  not  time,  nor  is  this  the  occasion,  to  enter  into  the  en- 
gineering details  of  the  construction,  to  discuss  all  the  strains  and 
stresses  in  the  several  parts  of  the  work,  or  the  factors  of  safety  against 
destructive  forces.  It  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  although  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  foundation  base  were  originally  planned  without  due  re- 
gard to  the  tremendous  forces  to  be  brought  into  play  in  building  so 
large  an  obelisk,  the  resources  of  modern  engineering  science  have 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument  31 


supplied  means  for  the  completion  of  the  grandest  monumental  column 
ever  erected  in  any  age  of  the  world. 

In  its  proportions  the  ratios  of  the  dimensions  of  the  several  parts 
of  the  ancient  Egyptian  obelisk  have  been  carefully  followed. 

The  entire  height  has  been  made  slightly  greater  than  ten  times 
the  breadth  of  base,  producing  an  obelisk  that,  for  grace  and  delicac) 
of  outline,  is  not  excelled  by  any  of  the  larger  Egyptain  monoliths, 
while  in  dignity  and  grandeur  it  surpasses  any  that  can  be  mentioned. 

Mr.  President:  For  and  in  behalf  of  the  Joint  Commission  for  the 
completion  of  the  Washington  Monument  I  deliver  to  you  this 
column. 

Senator  Sherman  then  introduced  "the  President  of  the 
United  States,"  and  as  Mr.  Arthur  stepped  forward  he  was 
loudly  applauded.  When  silence  was  restored  he  read  the 
following  remarks : 

president  Arthur's  dedicatory  address. 

Fellow-Countrymen:  Before  the  dawn  of  the  century  whose 
eventful  years  will  soon  have  faded  into  the  past,  when  death  had 
but  lately  robbed  this  Republic  of  its  most  beloved  and  illustrious  citi- 
zen, the  Congress  of  the  United  States  pledged  the  faith  of  the  Nation 
that  in  this  city,  bearing  his  honored  name,  and  then,  as  now,  the  seat 
of  the  General  Government,  a  monument  should  be  erected  "  to  com- 
memorate the  great  events  of  his  military  and  political  life." 

The  stately  column  that  stretches  heavenward  from  the  plain 
whereon  we  stand  bears  witness  to  all  who  behold  it  that  the  cove- 
nant which  our  fathers  made  their  children  have  fulfilled. 

In  the  completion  of  this  great  work  of  patriotic  endeavor  there 
is  abundant  cause  for  national  rejoicing;  for  while  this  structure  shall 
endure  it  shall  be  to  all  mankind  a  steadfast  token  of  the  affection- 
ate and  reverent  regard  in  which  this  people  continue  to  hold  the 
memory  of  Washington.  Well  may  he  ever  keep  the  foremost  place 
in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen. 

The  faith  that  never  faltered,  the  wisdom  that  was  broader  and 
deeper  than  any  learning  taught  in  schools,  the  courage  that  shrank 


32         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

from  no  peril  and  was  dismayed  by  no  defeat,  the  loyalty  that  kept 
all  selfish  purpose  subordinate  to  the  demands  of  patriotism  and 
honor,  the  sagacity  that  displayed  itself  in  camp  and  cabinet  alike, 
and  above  all  that  harmonious  union  of  moral  and  intellectual  quali- 
ties which  has  never  found  its  parallel  among  men;  these  are  the  at- 
tributes of  character  which  the  intelligent  thought  of  this  century 
ascribes  to  the  grandest  figure  of  the  last. 

But  other  and  more  eloquent  lips  than  mine  will  to-day  rehearse  to 
you  the  story  of  his  noble  life  and  its  glorious  achievements. 

To  myself  has  been  assigned  a  simpler  and  more  formal  duty,  in 
fulfillment  of  which  1  do  now,  as  President  of  the  United  States  and 
in  behalf  of  the  people,  receive  this  Monument  from  the  hands  of  its 
builder,  and  declare  it  dedicated  from  this  time  forth  to  the  immortal 
name  and  memory  of  George  Washington. 

President  Arthur  was  frequently  interrupted  by  applause, 
and  when  he  had  concluded  the  entire  assemblage  joined  in 
repeated  rounds  of  cheers,  many  waving  their  hats  and 
handkerchiefs.  It  was  with  some  difficulty  that  Senator 
Sherman  could  regain  the  attention  of  the  audience,  but 
when  he  did,  he  announced  that  the  dedication  ceremonies 
at  the  Monument  were  completed,  and  that  those  present 
would  move  in  procession  to  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, in  the  Capitol,  where  the  orations  would  be 
delivered. 


THE   PROCESSION   J^^SHD  REVIEW. 

No  sooner  were  the  exercises  concluded  than  the  military 
were  again  formed  in  column,  the  invited  guests  entered 
their  carriages,  and  the  procession  took  up  the  line  of  march 
for  the  Capitol,  bands  playing,  drums  beating,  colors  and 
banners  fluttering  in  the  wind,  while  the  cannon  at  the 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

navy-yard,  at  the  artillery  headquarters,  and  at  Port  Meyer 
fired  minute  guns. 

The  following  order  of  procession  was  observed: 

Marshal  of  the  Day.— Lieutenant- General  Philip  II.  Sheridan 
U  S.  Army. 

Chief  of  Staff.— Bvt.  Brig.  Gen.  Albert  Ordway,  (J.  S.  Volunteers. 

Personal  Aides-de- Camp. — Lieut.  Col  W.  ].  Volkmar,  (J.  S.  Army, 
Mr.  Linden  Kent. 

Aides-de-Camp. — Lieut.  Col.  M.  V.  Sheridan,  U.  S.  Army;  Lieut. 
Col.  James  Gregory,  U.  S.  Army;  Capt.  S.  10.  Blunt,  U.  S,  Army; 
Mr.  Walker  Blaine;  Mr.  Sevellon  A.  Brown;  Capt.  Francis  V.  Greene, 
U.  S.  Army;  Col.  H.  L.  Cranford,  U.  S.  Volunteers;  Medical  Di- 
rector  J.  M.  Browne,  U.  S.  Navy;  Mr.  H.  Grafton  Dulanev;  Lieut. 
T.  B.  M.  Mason,  U.  S.  Navy;  Col.  Amos  Webster,  U.  S.  Volunteers; 
Mr.  Edward  McCauley;  Lieut.  W.  H.  Emory,  jr.,  U.  S.  Navy;  Capt. 
S.  S.  Burdett,  U.  S.  Volunteers;  Maj.  Green  Clay  Goodloe,  U.  S. 
Marine  Corps;  Mr.  R.  J.  Dangerfield;  Bvt.  Maj.  Clayton  Mc- 
Michael,  U.  S.  Volunteers;  Bvt.  Maj.  John  B.  Fassit,  U-  S.  Volun- 
teers; Bvt.  Lieut.  Col.  J.  P.  Nicholson,'  U.  S.  Volunteers;  Mr.  Mills 
Dean;  Bvt.  Lieut.  Col.  George  Truesdell,  LJ.  S.  Volunteers;  Capt. 
I.  N.  Burritt,  U.  S.  Volunteers;  Bvt.  Col.  Archibald  Hopkins,  U.  S. 
Volunteers;  Capt.  John  M.  Carson,  U.  S.  Volunteers. 

Honorary  Staff,  representing  States  and  Territories.  —  Alabama,  Mr. 
John  H.  Morgan;  Arkansas,  General  James  C.  Tappan;  California, 
Mr.  Thomas  C.  Quantrell;  Colorado,  Maj.  J.  V.  \V.  Vandenburgh ; 
Connecticut,  General  C.  P.  Graham;  Delaware,  General  [.  Parke 
Postles;  Florida,  Col.  Wallace  S.  Jones;  Georgia,  Col.  Clifford  W. 
Anderson;  Illinois,  General  Green  B.  Raum;  Indiana,  Col.  R.  W. 
McBride;  Iowa,  Col.  William  P.  Hepburn;  Kansas,  General  C.  W. 
Blair;  Kentucky,  Col.  J.  B.  Castleman ;  Louisiana,  Col.  Charles  A. 
Larendon;  Maine,  General  John  M.  Brown;  Maryland,  Col.  E.  L. 
Rodgers;  Massachusetts,  Mr.  A.  A.  Hayes;  Michigan,  Col.  H.  M. 
Driffield;  Minnesota,  Col.  C.  W.  Johnson;  Mississippi,  Col.  J.  M. 
JVIcCaskill;  Missouri,  Lion.  J.  W.  Stone;  Nebraska,  Col.  L.  W.  Colby; 
Nevada,  Hon.  John  H.  Kinkead;  New  Hampshire,  General  f.  N. 
Patterson;  New  Jersey,  Col.  S.  Meredith  Dickinson  ;  New  York,  Maj. 
Alexander  H.  Davis;  North  Carolina,  Mr.  Fred  Stith;  Ohio,  Col.  C. 
A.  Layton;  Oregon,  Mr.  E.  D.  Appleton;  Pennsylvania,  Col.  P.  1,. 
Goddard;  Rhode  Island,  Col.  F.  M.  Bates;  South  Carolina.  Col.  J. 
A.  Simons;  Tennessee,  General  A.  B.  Upshur;  Texas,  Col.  J.  E. 
Labatt;  Vermont,  General  William  Wells;  Virginia,  Maj.  L.  Black- 
ford; West  Virginia,  Col.  Robert  White;  Wisconsin,  General  J.  C. 
Starkweather;  Arizona,  Hon.  J.  W.  Eddy;  Dakota,  Col.  William 
Thompson;  Idaho,  Maj.  William  Hyndman;  Montana,  Hon.  Martin 
3  w  M 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument* 


Maginnis;  New  Mexico,  Hon.  F.  A.  Manzanares;  Utah,  Mr.  Hum- 
phreys McMaster;  Washington,  Hon.  C.  S.  Voorhees;  Wyoming, 
Hon.  M.  E.  Post. 

Escort  to  the  Marshal  of  the  Day. — The  First  Troop  Philadelphia 
City  Cavalry,  organized  in  1774,  Capt.  E.  Burd  Grubb,  commanding. 


THE  FIRST  DIVISION. 

Marshal— Bvt.  Maj.  Gen.  R.  B.  Ayers,  U.  S.  Army.  * 
Staff. — Bvt.  Lieut.  Col.  George  Mitchell,  U.  S.  Army;  First  Lieut. 
Sebree  Smith,  U.  S.  Army;  First  Lieut.  Medorem  Crawford,  U.  S. 
Army;  First  Lieut.  H.  R.  Lemly,  U.  S.  Army;  Second  Lieut.  M.  C. 
Richards,  U.  S.  Army;  Second  Lieut.  W.  Walke,  U.  S.  Army  ;  Second 
Lieut.  H.  L.  Hawthorne,  U.  S.  Army;  Mr.  I.  H.  McDonald,  Mr.  W. 
J.  Johnson,  Mr.  Arthur  D.  Addison. 

Battalion  of  Second  U.  S.  Artillery,  Lieut  Col.  Loomis  L.  Lang- 
don. 

Battalion  of  U.  S.  Artillery,  Bvt.  Lieut.  Col.  L.  L.  Livingston. 
Light  Battery  A,  Second  U.  S.  Artillery,  Capt.  Frank  B.  Hamil- 
ton. 

Battalion  U.  S.  Marine  Corps,  Capt.  John  H.  Lligbee. 

The  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  of  Massachusetts, 
(organized  in  1638),  commander,  Capt.  Augustus  Whittemore;  first 
lieutenant,  Lieut.  Col.  E.  B.  Blasland ;  second  lieutenant,  Lieut.  G. 
H.  Gibson;  adjutant,  First  Lieut.  J.  P.  Frost,  preceded  by  the  Salem 
Cadet  Band. 

The  Governor's  Foot  Guard,  of  Hartford,  Conn,  (organized  in 
1 771),  Maj.  John  C.  Kinney;  Capt.  J.  C.  Pratt;  Lieuts.  T.  C.  Nae- 
dele,  J.  Robert  Dwyer,  and  F.  C.  Clark. 

The  German  Fusiliers,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.  (organized  in  1775), 
Capt.  Henry  Schachte ;  First  Lieut.  Henry  B.  Schroder ;  Second 
Lieut.  H.  Fischer. 

Richmond  Light  Infantry  Blues,  of  Richmond  (organized  in  1793), 
Capt.  Sol.  Cutchins. 

Washington  Light  Infantry  Corps,  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
Lieut.  Col.  William  G.  Moore. 

Union  Veteran  Corps  (Old  Guard),  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
Capt.  S.  E.  Thomason. 

Washington  Continentals,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Capt. 
George  E.  Timms. 

Emmet  Guard,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Capt.  W.  H.  Murphy. 

Washington  Rifle  Corps,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Capt.  George 
F.  Hammar. 

Butler  Zouaves,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Capt.  Charles  B.  Fisher. 
Washington  Cadet  Corps,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Maj.  C.  A. 
Fleetwood. 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  35 

Capital  City  Guard,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Capt.  Thomas  S. 
Kelly. 

Capitol  City  Guards,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Capt,  W.  P. 
Gray. 

National  Rifles,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Lieut.  J.  ().  Manson, 
accompanied  by  the  National  Rifle  Cadets,  Lieutenant  Domer. 

Lawrence  Light  Guard,  Company  E,  Fifth  Regiment  [nfantry, 
Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia,  Capt.  J .  K.  Clarke. 

Detroit  Light  Infantry,  of  Michigan,  First  Lieut.  George  W.  ( lorns, 

Alexandria  Light  Infantry,  of  Virginia,  Capt.  G.  A.  Mushback. 

Washington  High  school  Cadets,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Maj, 
Frederick  Sohon. 

Corcoran  Cadet  Corps,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Capt.  L.  C. 
Edwards. 

St  John's  Academy  Cadet  Corps,  of  Alexandria,  Va.,  Maj.  William 
L.  Pierce. 

THE    SECOND  DIVISION. 

Marshal. — Maj.  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee,  of  Virginia. 

Staff.— Col.  Thomas  Smith;  Maj.  J.  Courtland  H.  Smith;  Mr. 
Henry  Dangerfield;  Mr.  Bernard  P.  Green;  Dr.  Arthur  Snowden  ; 
Col.  Frederick  A.Windsor;  Maj.  S.  A.  Robertson;  Mr.  Barbour 
Thompson;  Mr.  Eppa  Hunton,  jr.;  Mr.  W.  L.  Smoot;  Mr.  J.  G. 
Beckham. 

This  division  was  headed  by  carriages,  containing  the  invited  guests, 
viz :  The  Congressional  Commission,  the  Orators  and  Chaplains  of 
the  Day,  the  Washington  National  Monument  Society,  ntembers  and 
ex-members  of  the  Joint  Commission  for  the  completion  of  the  Monu- 
ment, the  Engineer  of  the  Monument,  his  assistants,  and  detail  of 
workmen,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
President  and  Vice-Presidentelect  of  the  United  States,  ex- Presidents 
of  the  United  States,  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  other  Federal 
courts,  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  the  Governors  of  States,  accompanied 
by  their  respective  staffs,  the  Senate,  The  House  of  Representatives, 
officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  the  Society  of  Cincinnati. 

The  Masonic  fraternity  followed,  marshaled  by  Harrison  Ding- 
man,  marshal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  who 
had  as  his  aides  L.  D.  Wine,  Will  A.  Short,  J.  C.  Dulin,  T.  G.  Lo<  I. 
erman,  Charles  G.  Smith,  and  H.  A.  Johnston.    The  organizations 
in  line  were: 

Grand  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  of  Maryland. 
Grand  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  of  Virginia. 
Grand  Encampment  of  United  States,  Knights  Templar. 
Royal  Arch  Masons  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  United  States. 


36  Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


Master  Masons  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Alexandria  Washington  Lodge,  No.  22,  Alexandria,  Va. 
W  ashington  Lodge,  No.  3,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Saint  John's  Lodge,  No.  1,  New  A^ork  City. 
Fredericksburg  Lodge,  No.  4,  Fredericksburg,  Va.  . 
Dupont  Lodge,  of  Dupont  Mills,  Delaware. 

Delegations  from  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons 
of  West  Virginia,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Delaware,  Dakota,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Texas,  California,  Maryland,  New  York,  Virginia,  North  Caro 
lina,"  Pennsylvania,  and  Massachusetts. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  M.  W.  Grand  Master  Myron  M.  Parker. 


THIRD  DIVISION. 

Marshal.— Bvt.  Brig.  Gen.  W.  W.  Dudley,  U.  S.  Volunteers. 

Staff. — General  William  Birney,  Lieut.  Col.  F.  G.  Butterfield,  Lieut. 
Col.  G.  C.  Kniffin,  Lieut.  Col.  E.  C.  Ford,  Surg.  T.  B.  Hood,  Maj. 
E.  W.  Clark,  Capt.  J.  B.  Tanner,  Capt.  Fred.  Mack. 

Union  Veteran  Corps  (First  Company),  Capt.  M.  A.  Dillon,  acting 
as  escort  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

George  Washington  Post,  No.  103,  G.  A.  R.  of  New  York,  Gen- 
eral M.  T.  McMahon  commander. 

Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Department  of  the  Potomac,  N.  M. 
Brooks,  commander;  John  Cameron,  assistant  adjutant-general. 

John  A.  Rawlins  Post,  No.  1,  H.  E.  Weaver,  commander. 

Kit  Carson  Post,  No.  2,  Marcus  L.  Hopkins,  commander. 

Lincoln  Post,  No.  3,  H.  H.  Smith,  commander. 

O.  P.  Morton  Post,  No.  4,  Charles  H.  Shoater,  commander. 

George  G.  Meade  Post,  No.  5,  John  B.  Dowd,  commander. 

John  F.  Reynolds  Post,  No.  6,  S.  E.  Faunce,  commander. 

James  A.  Garfield  Post,  No.  7,  J.  H.  Jochum,  commander. 

Burnside  Post,  No.  8,  C  H.  Ingram,  commander. 

Charles  Sumner  Post,  No.  9,  George  M.  Arnold,  commander. 

Farragut  Post,  No.  10,  W.  T.  Van  Doren,  commander. 

The  Valley  Forge  Memorial  Association. 

The  Association  of  the  Boston  Light  Guard,  of  Massachusetts 
(composed  of  members  who  participated  in  laying  corner-stone  of 
Monument). 

The  Independent  Order  of  Rechabites,  George  W.  Shoemaker, 
District  Chief  Ruler  (participated  in  laying  corner  stone  of  Monu- 
ment). 

The  Journeyman  Stone-Cutters'  Association  (composed  of  men 
who  cut  the  stone  for  the  Monument). 

German  associations,  under  Mr.  A.  E.  L.  Keese,  marshal,  com- 
prising :  Association  of  Eighth  Battalion,  District  of  Columbia  Vol- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  37 

unteers;  German  Veterans  of  Washington  \  Germania  Maennerchorj 
German  Democratic  Association. 

Brotherhood  of  Carpenters,  Union  No.  r,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Brotherhood  of  Carpenters,  Union  No.  29,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 

President's  Mounted  Guard,  JYlaj.  George  A.  Anns. 

Virginia  Club  (mounted),  Capt.  W.  A.  Dinwiddie. 

Maryland  Club  (mounted),  Capt.  B.  W.  Summey. 

Washington  Club  (mounted),  Capt.  Thomas  E.  Hunter. 

Georgetown  Club  (mounted),  Capt.  A.  Fox. 

Fire  Department  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Chief  Engineer 
Martin  Cronin,  with  their  steam  fire  engines  and  apparatus. 


THE  MARCH  -A.1NTD  THE  REVIEW. 

The  procession  moved  from  the  Monument  grounds 
through  Seventeenth  street  to  the  new  State,  War,  and 
Navy  Department  building,  and  thence  in  front  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Mansion,  through  Fifteenth  street  into  Pennsylva- 
nia avenue. 

This  national  thoroughfare  was  decorated  with  flags  and 
bunting,  while  many  thousand  spectators  on  stands  and  on 
the  sidewalks  formed  a  brilliant  framework  for  the  passing 
pageant.  When  the  head  of  the  column  had  reached  the 
Capitol  a  halt  was  ordered,  and  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  who  occupied  an  open  carriage  drawn  by  four  horses, 
passed  the  military  to  the  Capitol.  On  his  arrival  there, 
after  a  brief  delay,  the  President  took  his  position  on  a  re- 
viewing stand  which  had  been  erected  directly  in  front  of 
the  Capitol,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  members  of  his 
Cabinet,  several  Senators,  Representatives,  and  diplomats. 

The  column  then  passed  in  review,  the  officers  saluting  as 
they  passed.    General  Sheridan,  with  his  mounted  staff, 


38         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

wheeled  out  after  they  had  passed  the  reviewing  stand  and 
took  their  position  opposite  the  President.  It  took  upwards 
of  an  hour  for  the  military  and  civic  organizations  to  march 
past  in  review,  and  as  each  body  left  the  Capitol  Grounds  it 
was  dismissed  to  the  command  of  its  head. 


EXERCISES   A.T   THE  CAPITOL. 

The  seats  had  been  removed  from  the  floor  of  the  Hall  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  which  was  filled  with  chairs, 
assigned  to  the  invited  guests,  viz:  The  Senators,  Repre- 
sentatives, and  Delegates  composing  the  Forty-eighth  Con- 
gress; the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  President- 
elect, the  Vice-President-elect,  and  the  ex-Presidents;  the 
Chief  Justice  and  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court; 
the  Cabinet  officers,  the  Admiral  of  the  Navy,  the  Lieu- 
tenant-General of  the  Army,  and  the  officers  of  the  Army 
and  Navy  who,  by  name,  had  received  the  thanks  of  Con- 
gress; the  Chief  Justice  and  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Claims, 
and  the  Chief  Justice  and  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia;  the  Diplomatic  Corps; 
the  Commissioners  of  the  District,  Governors  of  States  and 
Territories,  the  general  officers  of  the  Society  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati; the  Washington  National  Monument  Society, 
members  and  ex-members  of  the  Joint  Commission  for  the 
Completion  of  the  Monument,  engineers  of  the  Monument, 
a  detail  of  workmen,  and  other  guests  invited  to  the  floor. 

The  Executive  Gallery  was  reserved  for  the  invited 
guests  of  the  President,  the  families  of  the  members  of  the 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  39 

Cabinet,  and  the  families  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
Diplomatic  Gallery  was  reserved  for  the  families  of  the 
members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps.  The  Reporters'  Gallery 
was  reserved  exclusively  for  the  use  of  journalists,  and  the 
remaining  galleries  were  thrown  open  to  the  holders  of 
tickets  thereto. 

The  Marine  Band  occupied  the  vestibule  in  the  rear  of 
the  Speaker's  chair,  and  performed  a  succession  of  patriotic 
airs. 

The  House  of  Representatives  having  been  called  to  order 
by  Mr.  Speaker  Carlisle,  at  a  quarter  past  one  o'clock  p.  111., 
Messrs.  Dorsheimer,  Tucker,  and  Cannon  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  wait  on  the  Senate  and  inform  that  body  that 
the  House  was  ready  to  receive  it,  and  to  proceed  with  the 
ceremonies  which  had  been  appointed  to  take  place  in  the 
Hall  of  the  House. 

This  duty  was  performed,  and  at  half-past  two  o'clock  the 
members  of  the  Senate,  following  their  President  pro  ton- 
pore  and  their  Secretary,  and  preceded  by  their  Sergcant- 
at-Arms,  entered  the  Hall  of  the  House  ot  Representatives 
and  occupied  the  seats  reserved  for  them  on  the  right  and 
left  of  the  main  aisle. 

The  Hon.  George  F.  Edmunds,  a  Senator  from  Vermont, 
President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate,  occupied  the  Speaker's 
chair,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  sitting  at  his  left.  The 
Chaplain  of  the  House,  Rev.  John  S.  Lindsay,  D.  D.,  and 
Rev.  S.  A.  Wallis,  of  Pohick  Church,  near  Mount  Vernon, 
Virginia,  sat  at  the  Clerk's  desk.  The  chairman  of  the 
Joint  Committee  of  Arrangements,  the  orators,  and  the 
other  officials  designated  were  seated  in  accordance  with  the 
arrangements  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Arragements. 


Dedication  of  t/ie  Washington  National  Monument. 


The  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate  having  rapped 
with  his  gavel,  there  was  silence,  and  he  said: 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  you  are 
assembled,  pursuant  to  the  concurrent  order  of  the  two  Houses,  to 
celebrate  the  completion  of  the  Monument  to  the  memory  of  the  first 
President  of  the  United  States.  It  is  not  only  a  memorial  but  an 
inspiration  that  shall  live  through  all  the  generations  of  our  posterity, 
as  we  may  hope,  which  we  this  day  inaugurate  and  celebrate  by  the 
ceremonies  that  have  been  ordered  by  the  two  Houses. 

Rev.  S.  A.  Wallis,  of  Pohick  Church,  near  Mount  Vernon, 
Virginia,  then  offered  the  following  prayer: 

Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  who 
alone  rulest  over  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  disposest  of  them  ac- 
cording to  Thy  good  pleasure,  we  praise  Thy  holy  name  for  the  bene- 
fits we  commemorate  this  day. 

Wonderful  things  didst  Thou  for  us  in  the  days  of  our  fathers,  in 
the  times  of  old.  For  they  gat  not  the  land  in  possession  by  their 
sword,  neither  did  their  own  arm  save  them,  but  Thy  right  hand  and 
the  light  of  Thy  countenance,  because  Thou  hadst  a  favor  unto  them. 
Especially  do  we  render  Thee  our  hearty  thanks  for  Thy  servant 
George  Washington,  whom  Thou  gavest  to  be  a  commander  and  a 
governor  unto  this  people,  and  didst  by  him  accomplish  for  it  a  great 
and  mighty  deliverance.  And  as  we.  are  now  gathered  before  Thee 
in  these  Halls,  we  bless  Thee  for  the' government  and  civil  order 
Thou  didst  establish  through  him.  Grant  that  it  may  be  upheld  by 
that  righteousness  which  exalteth  a  nation,  and  that  this  place  may 
evermore  be  the  habitation  of  judgment  and  justice.  Let  Thy  bless 
ing  rest  upon  our  Chief  Magistrate  and  his  successors  in  all  genera- 
tions. Grant  each  in  his  time  those  heavenly  graces  that  are  requi- 
site for  so  high  a  trust;  that  the  laws  may  be  impartially  administered 
to  the  punishment  of  wickedness  and  vice,  and  to  the  maintenance 
of  Thy  true  religion  and  virtue.  We  also  humbly  beseech  Thee  for 
our  Senate  and  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled  that  Thou 
wouldst  be  pleased  to  direct  all  their  consultations  to  the  advance- 
ment of  Thy  glory,  the  good  of  Thy  Church,  the  safety,  honor,  and 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument,         \  i 


welfare  of  Thy  people,  that  all  things  may  be  so  ordered  and  settled 
by  their  endeavors  upon  the  best  and  surest  foundations,  that  peace 
and  happiness,  truth  and  justice,  religion  and  piety  nia\  be  established 
among  us  for  all  generations.  We  pray  Thee  for  our  judges  and  offi 
cers  that  they  may  judge  the  people  with  just  judgment,  be  no  re 
specters  of  persons,  and  hear  both  the  small  and  the  great  in  his 
cause  O,  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  pleased  to  save  and  defend  our 
Army  and  Navy,  that  each  may  be  a  safeguard  to  these  United 
States,  both  by  land  and  sea,  until  Thou  dost  fulfill  Thy  word,  that 
nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn 
war  any  more.  Be  with  those  who  have  been  appointed  to  speak 
unto  us  this  day  as  they  recount  the  deeds  of  old  time,  Thy  marvel- 
ous works,  and  the  judgments  of  Thy  mouth.  Give  them  grace  to 
utter  such  words  as  may  stir  us  up  to  emulate  the  virtues  of  our  lore 
fathers,  so  that  we  may  transmit  the  Republic  to  our  posterity  high 
in  praise  and  in  name  and  in  honor. 

Let  Thy  richest  blessings  rest  upon  our  country  at  large;  may  we 
lend  a  true  obedience  to  the  laws  cheerfully  and  willingly  for  eon- 
science'  sake.  Let  no  causeless  divisions  weaken  us  as  a  nation,  but 
grant  that  we  may  be  knit  together  more  and  more  in  the  bonds  of 
peace  and  unity.  Preserve  us  from  the  dangers  now  threatening 
society,  and  enable  each  of  us,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  to  do  his 
duty  in  that  state  of  life  unto  which  Thou  hast  called  him.  So  we 
that  are  Thy  people  and  sheep  of  Thy  pasture  shall  give  Thee  thanks 
forever,  and  will  always  be  showing  forth  Thy  praise  from  generation 
to  generation.  These  and  all  other  benefits  of  Thy  good  provident  e 
we  humbly  beg  in  the  name  and  through  the  mediation  of  Jesus 
Christ  our  most  blessed  Lord  and  Savior.  Amen. 

The  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate,  after  trie  Marine 
Band  had  played  "Hail  Columbia, "  said: 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  the  first 
proceeding  in  order  is  the  oration  by  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  of 
Massachusetts.  The  Chair  is  sorry  to  announce  that  Mr.  Winthrop, 
from  indisposition,  is  unable  to  attend.  According  to  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  committee  the  oration  will  be  now  read  by  Hon.  John 
I).  Long,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  the  State 
of  Massachusetts. 


42 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


ORATION     BY     HON.     ROBERT    C.  WINTHROP.* 

President  Arthur,  Senators  and  Representatives   of  the 
United  States: 

By  a  joint  Resolution  of  Congress  you  have  called  upon 
me  to  address  you  in  this  Hall  to-day  on  the  completion  of 
yonder  colossal  monument  to  the  Father  of  his  Country. 
Nothing  less  imperative  could  have  brought  me  before  you 
for  such  an  effort.  Nearly  seven  and  thirty  years  have 
passed  away  since  it  was  my  privilege  to  perform  a  similar 
service  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  that  monument. 
In  the  prime  of  manhood,  and  in  the  pride  of  official  sta- 
tion, it  was  not  difficult  for  me  to  speak  to  assembled  thou- 

*  Note  by  Mr.  Wintbrop's  son  to  a  pamphlet  edition  of  his  oration. — On  being 
informed  of  the  passage  of  the  joint  resolution  designating  him  as  the  orator  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Monument,  Mr.  Winthrop  wrote  to  Senator  Sherman,  of  Ohio, 
chairman  of  the  Monument  Commission,  and  to  Senator  Morrill,  of  Vermont,  one 
of  its  leading  members,  to  express,  not  merely  his  deep  sense  of  the  honor  con- 
ferred upon  him,  but  also  his  great  doubt  whether  he  ought  not  respectfully  to  de- 
cline it.  He  had  regarded  his  centennial  oration  at  Yorktown,  in  1881,  as  the 
closing  effort  of  the  series  of  historical  addresses  which  he  had  been  privileged  to 
pronounce  at  different  periods,  and  he  hesitated  to  risk  impairing  the  success  of  the 
present  celebration  by  subjecting  it  to  the  contingencies  of  failing  health  and 
strength  to  which  a  man  far  advanced  in  his  seventy-sixth  year  would  necessarily 
be  liable.  Senators  Sherman  and  Morrill,  however,  both  replied  that  the  interest 
of  the  occasion  would  be  greatly  enhanced  if  the  orator  whose  name  was  associ- 
ated with  the  inception  of  the  Monument  should  officiate  at  its  completion,  and 
strongly  urged  Mr.  Winthrop  to  accept  the  appointment,  which  he  eventually  did, 
though  not  without  misgivings,  which  have  been  unhappily  justified. 

Two  months  only  before  the  appointed  time,  and  after  he  had  substantially  pre 
pared  what  he  proposed  to  say,  Mr.  Winthrop  fell  dangerously  ill  of  pneumonia, 
his  recovery  from  which  was  too  slow  to  admit  of  the  delivery  of  his  oration  in 
person.  Under  these  circumstances,  and  at  the  joint  request  of  the  Monument 
Commission  and  of  Mr.  Winthrop,  it  was  most  kindly  and  effectively  read  for  him 
by  Hon.  John  Davis  Long,  late  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  now  a  member  of 
the  United  States  House  of  Representatives. 

R.  C.  W.,  Jr. 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  43 

sands  in  the  open  air,  without  notes,  under  the  scorching 
rays  of  a  midsummer  sun.  But  what  was  easy  for  me  then 
is  impossible  for  me  now.  I  am  here  to-day,  as  I  need  not 
tell  you,  in  far  other  condition  for  the  service  you  have  as- 
signed me — changed,  changed  in  almost  everything  except 
an  inextinguishable  love  for  my  Country  and  its  Union  and 
an  undying  reverence  for  the  memory  of  Washington.  ( )n 
these  alone  I  rest  for  inspiration,  assured  that,  with  your  in- 
dulgence, and  the  blessing  of  God,  which  I  devoutly  invoke, 
they  will  be  sufficient  to  sustain  me  in  serving  as  a  medium 
for  keeping  up  the  continuity  between  the  hearts  and  hands 
which  laid  the  foundation  of  this  gigantic  structure  and 
those  younger  hearts  and  hands  which  have  at  last  brought 
forth  the  capstone  with  shoutings.  It  is  for  this  you  have 
summoned  me.    It  is  for  this  alone  I  have  obeyed  your  call. 

Meantime  I  cannot  wholly  forget  that  the  venerable  Ex- 
President  John  Quincy  Adams— at  whose  death-bed,  in  my 
official  chamber  beneath  this  roof,  I  was  a  privileged  watcher 
thirty-seven  years  ago  this  very  day— had  been  originally 
designated  to  pronounce  the  Corner-stone  Oration,  as  one 
who  had  received  his  first  commission,  in  the  long  and  bril- 
liant career  at  home  and  abroad  which  awaited  him,  from 
the  hands  of  Washington  himself.  In  that  enviable  distinc- 
tion I  certainly  have  no  share;  but  I  may  be  pardoned  for 
remembering  that,  in  calling  upon  me  to  supply  the  place 
of  Mr.  Adams,  it  was  borne  in  mind  that  I  had  but  lately 
taken  the  oath  as  Speaker  at  his  hands  and  from  his  lips, 
and  that  thus,  as  was  suggested  at  the  time,  the  electric 
chain,  though  lengthened  by  a  single  link,  was  still  un- 
broken. Let  me  hope  that  the  magnetism  of  that  chain 
may  not  even  yet  be  entirely  exhausted,  and  that  I  may 


44         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

still  catch  something  of  its  vivifying  and  quickening  power, 
while  I  attempt  to  bring  to  the  memory  of  Washington  the 
remnants  of  a  voice  which  is  failing  and  of  a  vigor  which  I 
am  conscious  is  ebbing  away! 

It  is  now,  Mr.  President,  Senators,  and  Representatives, 
more  than  half  a  century  since  a  voluntary  Association  of 
patriotic  citizens  initiated  the  project  of  erecting  a  National 
Monument  to  Washington  in  the  city  which  bears  his  name. 
More  than  a  whole  century  ago,  indeed — in  that  great  year 
of  our  Lord  which  witnessed  the  Treaty  of  Peace  and  Inde- 
pendence, 1783 — Congress  had  ordered  an  Equestrian  vStatue 
of  him  to  be  executed  "to  testify  the  love,  admiration,  and 
gratitude  of  his  countrymen"  ;  and  again,  immediately  after 
his  death,  in  1799,  Congress  had  solemnly  voted  a  marble 
monument  to  him  at  the  Capital,  "so  designed  as  to  com- 
memorate the  great  events  of  his  military  and  political  life." 
But  our  beloved  country,  while  yet  in  its  infancy,  and  I  may 
add  in  its  indigency,  with  no  experience  in  matters  of  art, 
and  heavily  weighed  down  by  the  great  debt  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  knew  better  how  to  vote  monuments  than  how 
to  build  them,  or,  still  more,  how  to  pay  for  them.  York- 
town  monuments  and  Washington  monuments,  and  the 
statues  of  I  know  not  how  many  heroes  of  our  struggle  for 
Independence,  made  a  fine  show  on  paper  in  our  early  records, 
and  were  creditable  to  those  who  ordered  them;  but  their 
practical  execution  seems  to  have  been  indefinitely  post- 
poned. 

The  Washington  Monument  Association,  instituted  in 
1833,  resolved  that  no  such  postponement  should  longer  be 
endured,  and  proceeded  to  organize  themselves  for  the  work, 
which  has  at  length  been  completed.    They  had  for  their 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Moo  it  mail.  45 

first  President  the  great  Chief  Justice  John  Marshall,  the  per- 
sonal friend  and  chosen  biographer  of  Washington,  whose 
impressive  image  you  have  so  recently  and  so  worthily 
unveiled  on  yonder  Western  Terrace.  They  had  for  their 
second  President  the  not  less  illustrious  James  Madison,  the 
father  of  the  Constitution  of  which  Marshall  was  the  inter- 
preter, and  whose  statue  might  well  have  no  inferior  place 
on  the  same  Terrace.  Among  the  other  officers  and  mana- 
gers of  that  Association  I  cannot  forget  the  names  of  William 
W.  Seaton,  whose  memory  is  deservedly  cherished  by  all  who 
knew  him;  of  that  grand  old  soldier  and  patriot  Winfield 
Scott;  of  Generals  Archibald  Henderson  and  Nathan  Tow- 
son;  of  Walter  Jones,  and  Peter  Force,  and  Philip  R.  Ken- 
dall, together  with  that  of  its  indefatigable  General  Agent, 
honest  old  Elisha  Whittlesey.  To  that  Association  our 
earliest  and  most  grateful  acknowledgments  are  due  on  this 
occasion.  But  of  those  whom  I  have  named,  and  of  many 
others  whom  I  might  name,  so  long  among  the  honored  and 
familiar  figures  of  this  metropolis,  not  one  is  left  to  be  the 
subject  of  our  congratulations.  Meanwhile  we  all  rejoice  to 
welcome  the  presence  of  one  of  their  contemporaries  and 
friends,  whose  munificent  endowments  for  Art,  Education, 
Religion,  and  Charity  entitle  him  to  so  enviable  a  place  on 
the  roll  of  American  philanthropists — the  venerable  William 
W.  Corcoran,  now,  and  for  many  years  past,  our  senior  Vice- 
President. 

Nearly  fifteen  years,  however,  elapsed  before  the  plans  or 
the  funds  of  this  Association  were  in  a  state  of  sufficient  for- 
wardness to  warrant  them  even  in  fixing  a  day  for  laying  the 
first  foundation-stone  of  the  contemplated  structure.  That 
day  arrived  at  last— the  4th  of  July,  1848.    And  a  great  day 


46         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

it  was  in  this  capital  of  the  nation.  There  had  been  no  day 
like  it  here  before,  and  there  have  been  but  few,  if  any,  days 
like  it  here  since.  If  any  one  desires  a  description  of  it,  he 
will  find  a  most  exact  and  vivid  one  in  the  columns  of  the 
old  National  Intelligencer — doubtless  from  the  pen  of  that 
prince  of  editors,  the  accomplished  Joseph  Gales.  I  recall 
among  the  varied  features  of  the  long  procession  Freema- 
sons of  every  order,  with  their  richest  regalia,  including  the 
precious  gavel  and  apron  of  Washington  himself;  Firemen, 
with  their  old-fashioned  engines;  Odd-Fellows  from  a  thou- 
sand Lodges;  Temperance  Societies  and  other  Associations 
innumerable;  the  children  of  the  Schools,  long  ago  grown 
to  mature  manhood ;  the  military  escort  of  regulars,  marines, 
and  volunteer  militia  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  com- 
manded by  Generals  Quitman  and  Cadwalader  and  Colonel 
May,  then  crowned  with  laurels  won  in  Mexico,  which  long 
ago  were  laid  upon  their  graves.  I  recall,  too,  the  masses 
of  the  people,  of  all  classes,  and  sexes,  and  ages,  and  colors, 
gazing  from  the  windows,  or  thronging  the  sidewalks,  or 
grouped  in  countless  thousands  upon  the  Monument  grounds. 
But  I  look  around  in  vain  for  any  of  the  principal  witnesses 
of  that  imposing  ceremonial :  the  venerable  widows  of  Alex- 
ander Hamilton  and  James  Madison;  President  Polk  and 
his  Cabinet,  as  then  constituted — Buchanan,  Marcy,  John 
Y.  Mason,  Walker,  Cave  Johnson,  and  Clifford;  Vice-Presi- 
dent Dallas;  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  the  adopted 
son  of  the  great  Chief ;  not  forgetting  Abraham  Lincoln  and 
Andrew  Johnson,  both  then  members  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, and  for  whom  the  liveliest  imagination  could 
hardly  have  pictured  what  the  future  had  in  store  for  them. 
Of  that  whole  body  there  are  now  but  a  handful  of  surviv- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  \  y 

ors,  and  probably  not  more  than  two  or  three  of  them  pres 
ent  here  to-day — not  one  in  either  branch  of  Congress,  nor 
one,  as  I  believe,  in  any  department  of  the  national  service. 

To  those  of  us  who  took  part  in  the  laying  of  that  first 
stone,  or  who  witnessed  the  ceremonies  of  the  august  occa- 
sion, and  who  have  followed  the  slow  ascent  of  the  stupen- 
dous pile,  sometimes  with  hope  and  sometimes  with  despair, 
its  successful  completion  is,  I  need  not  say,  an  unspeakable 
relief,  as  well  as  a  heartfelt  delight  and  joy.  I  hazard  little 
in  saying  that  there  are  some  here  to-day,  unwearied  work- 
ers in  the  cause,  like  my  friends  Horatio  King  and  Dr. 
Toner—  to  name  no  others — to  whose  parting  hour  a  special 
pang  would  have  been  added  had  they  died  without  the 
sight  which  now  greets  their  longing  eyes  on  yonder  plain. 

I  dare  not  venture  on  any  detailed  description  of  the  long 
intervening  agony  between  the  laying  of  the  first  stone  and 
the  lifting  of  the  last.  It  would  fill  a  volume,  and  will  be 
sure  hereafter  to  furnish  material  for  an  elaborate  mono- 
graph, whose  author  will  literally  find  ' '  sermons  in  stones'  '— 
for  almost  every  stone  has  its  story  if  not  its  sermon.  Every 
year  of  the  first  decade  certainly  had  its  eventful  and  note- 
worthy experiences.  The  early  enthusiasm  which  elicited 
contributions  to  the  amount  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mill- 
ion of  dollars  from  men,  women,  and  children  in  all  parts 
of  the  land,  and  which  carried  up  the  shaft  more  than  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  almost  at  a  bound;  the  presentation  and 
formal  reception  of  massive  blocks  of  marble,  granite,  por- 
phyry, or  freestone  from  every  State  in  the  Union  and  from 
so  many  foreign  nations — beginning,  according  to  the  cata- 
logue, with  a  stone  from  Bunker  Hill  and  ending  with  one 
from  the  Emperor  of  Brazil;  the  annual  assemblies  at  its 


48  Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

base  on  each  succeeding;  Fourth  of  July,  with  speeches  by 
distinguished  visitors;  the  sudden  illness  and  sad  death  of 
that  sterling  patriot  President  Zachary  Taylor,  after  an  ex- 
posure to  the  midday  heat  at  the  gathering  in  1850,  when 
the  well-remembered  Senator  Foote,  of  Mississippi,  had  in- 
dulged in  too  exuberant  an  address — these  were  among  its 
beginnings;  the  end  was  still  a  whole  generation  distant. 

Later  on  came  the  long,  long  disheartening  pause,  when — 
partly  owing  to  the  financial  embarrassments  of  the  times, 
partly  owing  to  the  political  contentions  and  convulsions  of 
the  country,  and  partly  owing  to  unhappy  dissensions  in  the 
Association  itself — any  further  contributions  failed  to  be 
forthcoming,  all  interest  in  the  Monument  seemed  to  flag 
and  die  away,  and  all  work  on  it  was  suspended  and  practi- 
cally abandoned.  A  deplorable  Civil  War  soon  followed, 
and  all  efforts  to  renew  popular  interest  in  its  completion 
were  palsied. 

How  shall  I  depict  the  sorry  spectacle  which  those  first  one 
hundred  and  fifty-six  feet,  in  their  seemingly  hopeless,  help- 
less condition,  with  that  dismal  derrick  still  standing  as  in 
mockery  upon  their  summit,  presented  to  the  eye  of  every 
comer  to  the  Capital  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century!  No 
wonder  the  unsightly  pile  became  the  subject  of  pity  or  de- 
rision. No  wonder  there  were  periodical  panics  about  the 
security  of  its  foundation,  and  a  chronic  condemnation  of  the 
original  design.  No  wonder  that  suggestions  for  tearing  it 
all  down  began  to  be  entertained  in  many  minds,  and  were 
advocated  by  many  pens  and  tongues.  That  truncated  shaft, 
with  its  untidy  surroundings,  looked  only  like  an  insult  to 
the  memory  of  Washington.  It  symbolized  nothing  but  an 
ungrateful  country,  not  destined — as,  God  be  thanked,  it  still 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument  40 

was— to  growth  and  grandeur  and  imperishable  glory,  but 
doomed  to  premature  decay,  to  discord,  strife,  and  ultimate 
disunion.  Its  very  presence  was  calculated  to  discourage 
many  hearts  from  other  things,  as  well  as  from  itself.  It  was 
an  abomination  of  desolation  standing  where  it  ought  not, 
All  that  followed  of  confusion  and  contention  in  our  country's 
history  seemed  foreshadowed  and  prefigured  in  that  humili- 
ating spectacle,  and  one  could  almost  read  on  its  sides  in 
letters  of  blood,  "  Divided!  Weighed  in  the  balance!  Found 
wanting!" 

And  well  might  that  crude  and  undigested  mass  have  stood 
so  forever,  or  until  the  hand  of  man  or  the  operation  of  the 
elements  should  have  crushed  and  crumbled  it  into  dust,  if 
our  Union  had  then  perished.  An  unfinished,  fragmentary, 
crumbling  monument  to  Washington  would  have  been  a  fit 
emblem  of  a  divided  and  ruined  Country.  Washington  him- 
self would  not  have  had  it  finished.  He  would  have  desired 
no  tribute,  however  imposing,  from  either  half  of  a  disunited 
Republic.  He  would  have  turned  with  abhorrence  from  be- 
ing thought  the  Father  of  anything  less  than  One  Country, 
with  one  Constitution  and  one  Destiny. 

And  how  cheering  and  how  inspiring  the  reflection,  how 
grand  and  glorious  the  fact,  that  no  sooner  were  our  un- 
happy contentions  at  an  end,  no  sooner  were  Union  and 
Liberty,  one  and  inseparable,  once  more  and,  as  we  trust 
and  believe,  forever  reasserted  and  reassured,  than  this  111011- 
ment  to  Washington  gave  signs  of  fresh  life,  began  to  at- 
tract new  interest  and  new  effort,  and  soon  was  seen  rising 
again  slowly  but  steadily  toward  the  skies — stone  after  stone, 
course  upon  course,  piled  up  in  peace,  with  foundations  ex- 
tended to  the  full  demand  of  the  enormous  weight  to  be 
4  w  M 


50  Dedication  of  the  Washington  Nat  ion  at  Monument. 

placed  upon  them,  until  we  can  now  hail  it  as  complete! 
Henceforth  and  forever  it  shall  be  lovingly  associated,  not 
only  with  the  memory  of  him  in  whose  honor  it  has  been 
erected,  but  with  an  era  of  assured  peace,  unity,  and  con- 
cord, which  would  have  been  dearer  to  his  heart  than  the 
costliest  personal  memorial  which  the  toil  and  treasure  of 
his  countrymen  could  have  constructed.  The  Union  is  itself 
the  all-sufficient  and  the  only  sufficient  monument  to  Wash- 
ington. The  Union  was  nearest  and  dearest  to  his  great 
heart.  ' '  The  Union  in  any  event, ' '  were  the  most  emphatic 
words  of  his  immortal  Farewell  Address.  Nothing  less  than 
the  Union  would  ever  have  been  accepted  or  recognized  by 
him  as  a  monument  commensurate  with  his  services  and  his 
fame.  Nothing  less  ought  ever  to  be  accepted  or  recognized 
as  such  by  us,  or  by  those  who  shall  rise  up,  generation  after 
generation,  to  do  homage  to  his  memory! 

For  the  grand  consummation  which  we  celebrate  to-day 
we  are  indebted  primarily  to  the  National  Government,  under 
the  successive  Presidents  of  the  past  nine  years,  with  the 
concurrent  action  of  the  two  branches  of  Congress,  prompted 
by  Committees  so  often  under  the  lead  of  the  veteran  Sen- 
ator Morrill,  of  Vermont.  The  wise  decision  and  emphatic 
resolution  of  Congress  on  the  2d  of  August,  1876 — inspired 
by  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  American  Independence, 
moved  by  Senator  Sherman,  of  Ohio,  and  adopted,  as  it 
auspiciously  happened,  on  the  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  formal  signing  of  the  great  Declaration — that  the  monu- 
ment should  no  longer  be  left  unfinished,  with  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Joint  Commission  to  direct  and  supervise  its 
completion,  settled  the  whole  matter.  To  that  Joint  Com- 
mission, consisting  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  e  i 

for  the  time  being,  the  Senior  Vice-President  of  the-  Monu- 
ment Association,  the  Chief  of  Engineers  of  the  United 
States  Army,  with  the  architects  of  the  Capitol  and  the 
Treasury,  the  congratulations  and  thanks  of  us  all  may  well 
be  tendered.  But  I  think  they  will  all  cordially  agree  with 
me  that  the  main  credit  and  honor  of  what  has  been  accom- 
plished belongs  peculiarly  and  pre-eminently  to  the  distin- 
guished officer  of  Engineers  who  has  been  their  devoted  and 
untiring  Agent  from  the  outset.  The  marvellous  work  of 
extending  and  strengthening  the  foundations  of  a  structure 
already  weighing,  as  it  did,  not  less  than  thirty-two  thousand 
tons — sixty-four  million  pounds — an  operation  which  has 
won  the  admiration  of  engineers  all  over  the  world,  and  which 
will  always  associate  this  monument  with  a  signal  triumph 
of  scientific  skill — was  executed  upon  his  responsibility  and 
under  his  personal  supervision.  His,  too,  have  been  the 
ingenious  and  effective  arrangements  by  which  the  enor- 
mous shaft  has  been  carried  up,  course  after  course,  until  it 
has  reached  its  destined  height  of  five  hundred  and  fifty-five 
feet,  as  we  see  it  at  this  hour.  To  Col.  Thomas  Lincoln 
Casey,  whose  name  is  associated  in  three  generations  with 
valued  military  service  to  his  country,  the  successful  com- 
pletion of  the  monument  is  due.  But  he  would  not  have 
us  forget  his  accomplished  Assistant,  Capt.  George  W.  Davis, 
and  neither  of  them  would  have  us  fail  to  remember  Super- 
intendent Mclaughlin  and  the  hard-handed  and  honest- 
hearted  mechanics  who  have  labored  so  long  under  their 
direction. 

Finis  coronat  opus.  The  completion  crowns  the  work. 
To-day  that  work  speaks  for  itself,  and  needs  no  other  orator. 
Mute  and  lifeless  as  it  seems,  it  has  a  living  and  audible 


52         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  . 

voice  for  all  who  behold  it,  and  no  one  can  misinterpret  its 
language.  Nor  will  any  one,  I  think,  longer  cavil  about  its 
design.  That  design,  let  me  add,  originally  prepared  by  the 
Washington  architect,  Robert  Mills,  of  South  Carolina,  and 
adopted  long  before  I  had  any  relations  to  this  Association, 
was  commended  to  public  favor  by  such  illustrious  names 
as  Andrew  Jackson,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Albert  Gallatin, 
Henry  Clay,  and  Daniel  Webster.  A  colonnade  encircling 
its  base,  and  intended  as  a  sort  of  Pantheon,  was  soon  dis- 
carded from  the  plan.  Its  main  feature,  from  the  first,  was 
an  obelisk,  after  the  example  of  that  which  had  then  been 
recently  agreed  upon  for  Bunker  Hill.  And  so  it  stands 
to-day,  a  simple  sublime  obelisk  of  pure  white  marble,  its 
proportions,  in  spite  of  its  immense  height,  conforming  ex- 
actly to  those  of  the  most  celebrated  obelisks  of  antiquity, 
as  my  accomplished  and  lamented  friend,  our  late  Minister 
to  Italy,  George  P.  Marsh,  so  happily  pointed  out  to  us.  It 
is  not,  indeed,  as  were  those  ancient  obelisks,  a  monolith, 
a  single  stone  cut  whole  from  the  quarry ;  that  would  have 
been  obviously  impossible  for  anything  so  colossal.  Nor 
could  we  have  been  expected  to  attempt  the  impossible  in 
deference  to  Egyptian  methods  of  construction.  We  might 
almost  as  well  be  called  on  to  adopt  as  the  emblems  of  Amer- 
ican Progress  the  bronze  Crabs  which  were  found  at  the  base 
of  Cleopatra's  Needle!  America  is  certainly  at  liberty  to 
present  new  models  in  art  as  well  as  in  government,  or  to 
improve  upon  old  ones ;  and,  as  I  ventured  to  suggest  some 
years  ago,  our  monument  to  Washington  will  be  all  the 
more  significant  and  symbolic  in  embodying,  as  it  does,  the 
idea  of  our  cherished  National  motto,  B  pluribus  Unum. 
That  compact,  consolidated  structure,  with  its  countless 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  53 

blocks,  inside  and  outside,  held  firmly  in  position  by  their 
own  weight  and  pressure,  will  ever  be  an  instructive  type 
of  the  National  strength  and  grandeur  which  can  only  be 
secured  by  the  union  of  "many  in  one." 

Had  the  Fine  Arts  indeed  made  such  advances  in  our 
country  forty  years  ago  as  we  are  now  proud  to  recognize, 
it  is  not  improbable  that  a  different  design  might  have  been 
adopted;  yet  I  am  by  no  means  sure  it  would  have  been  a 
more  effective  and  appropriate  one.  There  will  always  be 
ample  opportunity  for  the  display  of  decorative  art  in  our 
land.  The  streets  and  squares  of  this  city  and  of  all  our 
great  cities  are  wide  open  for  the  statues  and  architectural 
memorials  of  our  distinguished  statesmen  and  soldiers,  and 
such  monuments  are  everywhere  welcomed  and  honored. 
But  is  not — I  ask  in  all  sincerity — is  not  the  acknowledged 
pre-eminence  of  the  Father  of  his  Country,  first  without  a 
second,  more  fitly  and  adequately  represented  by  that  soar- 
ing shaft,  rising  high  above  trees  and  spires  and  domes  and 
all  the  smoke  and  stir  of  earth — as  he  ever  rose  above  sec- 
tional prejudices  and  party  politics  and  personal  interests — 
overtopping  and  dominating  all  its  surroundings,  gleaming 
and  glistening  out  at  every  vista  as  far  as  human  sight  can 
reach,  arresting  and  riveting  the  eye  at  every  turn,  while  it 
shoots  triumphantly  to  the  skies?  Does  not — does  not,  I 
repeat,  that  Colossal  Unit  remind  all  who  gaze  at  it,  more 
forcibly  than  any  arch  or  statue  could  do,  that  there  is  one 
name  in  American  history  above  all  other  names,  one  char- 
acter more  exalted  than  all  other  characters,  one  example 
to  be  studied  and  reverenced  beyond  all  other  examples, 
one  bright  particular  star  in  the  clear  upper  sky  of  our 
firmament,  whose  guiding  light  and  peerless  lustre  are  for 


54         Dedication  of  the  Wasltington  National  Monument. 

all  men  and  for  all  ages,  never  to  be  lost  sight  of,  never  to 
be  unheeded?  Of  that  name,  of  that  character,  of  that  ex- 
ample, of  that  glorious  guiding  light,  our  Obelisk,  standing 
on  the  very  spot  selected  by  Washington  himself  for  a  mon- 
ument to  the  American  Revolution,  and  on  the  site  which 
marks  our  National  meridian,  will  be  a  unique  memorial 
and  symbol  forever. 

For  oh,  my  friends,  let  us  not  longer  forget,  or  even  seem 
to  forget,  that  we  are  here  to  commemorate  not  the  Monu- 
ment but  the  Man.  That  stupendous  pile  has  not  been 
reared  for  any  vain  purpose  of  challenging  admiration  for 
itself.  It  is  not,  I  need  not  say  it  is  not,  as  a  specimen  of 
advanced  art,  for  it  makes  no  pretension  to  that;  it  is  not  as 
a  signal  illustration  of  engineering  skill  and  science,  though 
that  may  confidently  be  claimed  for  it;  it  is  not,  certainly  it 
is  not,  as  the  tallest  existing  structure  in  the  world,  for  we 
do  not  measure  the  greatness  of  men  by  the  height  of  their 
monuments,  and  we  know  that  this  distinction  may  be  done 
away  with  here  or  elsewhere  in  future  years;  but  it  is  as  a 
Memorial  of  the  pre-eminent  figure  in  modern  or  in  ancient 
history  the  world  over — of  the  man  who  has  left  the  loftiest 
example  of  public  and  private  virtues,  and  whose  exalted 
character  challenges  the  admiration  and  the  homage  of  man- 
kind. It  is  this  example  and  this  character — it  is  the  Man, 
and  not  the  Monument — that  we  are  here  to  commemorate ! 

Assembled  in  these  Legislative  Halls  of  the  Nation,  as  near 
to  the  Anniversary  of  his  birth  as  a  due  respect  for  the  Day 
of  our  Lord  will  allow,  to  signalize  the  long-delayed  accom- 
plishment of  so  vast  a  work,  it  is  upon  him  in  whose  honor 
it  has  been  upreared,  and  upon  the  incomparable  and  ines- 
timable services  he  has  rendered  to  his  country  and  to  the 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument  55 

world,  that  our  thoughts  should  be  concentred  at  this  hour. 
Yet  what  can  I  say,  what  can  any  man  say,  of  Washington, 
which  has  not  already  been  rendered  as  familiar  as  house- 
hold words,  not  merely  to  those  who  hear  me,  but  to  all 
readers  of  history  and  all-  lovers  of  Liberty  throughout  the 
world?  How  could  I  hope  to  glean  anything  from  a  held 
long  ago  so  carefully  and  lovingly  reaped  by  such  men  as 
John  Marshall  and  Jared  Sparks,  by  Guizot  and  Edward 
Everett  and  Washington  Irving,  as  well  as  by  our  eminent 
living  historian,  the  venerable  George  Bancroft,  happily  here 
with  us  to-day? 

Others,  many  others,  whom  I  dare  not  attempt  to  name 
or  number,  have  vied  with  each  other  in  describing  a  career 
of  whose  minutest  details  no  American  is  ever  weary,  and 
whose  variety  and  interest  can  never  be  exhausted.  Every 
stage  and  step  of  that  career,  every  scene  of  that  great  and 
glorious  life,  from  the  hour  of  his  birth,  one  hundred  and 
fifty-three  years  ago — "about  ten  in  the  morning  of  y°  11th 
day  of  February,  1731-2,"  as  recorded  in  his  mother's 
Bible — in  that  primitive  Virginia  farm-house  in  the  county 
of  Westmoreland,  of  which  the  remains  of  the  "great  brick 
chimney  of  the  kitchen"  have  been  identified  only  within 
a  few  years  past — every  scene,  I  say,  of  that  grand  and  glo- 
rious life,  from  that  ever-memorable  hour  of  his  nativity, 
has  been  traced  and  illustrated  by  the  most  accomplished 
and  brilliant  pens  and  tongues  of  our  land. 

His  childhood,  under  the  loving  charge  of  that  venerated 
mother,  who  delighted  to  say  that  "George  had  always 
been  a  good  son,"  who  happily  lived  not  only  to  see  him 
safely  restored  to  her  after  the  exposures  and  perils  of  the 
Revolutionary  struggle,  but  to  see  him,  in  her  eighty-second 


56         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

year,  unanimously  elected  to  be  the  President  in  Peace  of 
the  country  of  which  he  had  been  the  Saviour  in  War;  his 
primary  education  in  that  "old-field  school-house,"  with 
Hobby,  the  sexton  of  the  parish,  for  his  first  master;  his 
early  and  romantic  adventures  as  a  land  surveyor;  his  nar- 
row escape  from  being  a  midshipman  in  the  British  Navy 
at  fourteen  years  of  age,  for  which  it  has  been  said  a  warrant 
had  been  obtained  and  his  luggage  actually  put  on  board  a 
man-of-war  anchored  in  the  river  just  below  Mount  Vernon; 
his  still  narrower  and  hairbreadth  escapes  from  Indian 
arrows  and  from  French  bullets,  and  his  survival — the  only 
mounted  officer  not  killed — at  the  defeat  of  Braddock,  of 
whom  he  was  an  aide-de-camp;  together  with  that  most 
remarkable  prediction  of  the  Virginia  pastor,  Samuel 
Davies,  afterward  President  of  Princeton  College,  pointing 
him  out — in  a  sermon,  in  1755,  on  his  return,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three,  from  the  disastrous  field  of  the  Mononga- 
hela — as  "that  heroic  youth,  Colonel  Washington,  whom  I 
cannot  but  hope  Providence  has  preserved  in  so  signal  a 
manner  for  some  important  service  to  his  country"  ;  who 
has  forgotten,  who  can  ever  forget  these  most  impressive 
incidents  of  that  opening  career  by  which  he  was  indeed  so 
providentially  preserved,  prepared,  and  trained  up  for  the 
eventful  and  illustrious  future  which  awaited  him? 

Still  less  can  any  American  forget  his  taking  his  seat, 
soon  afterward,  in  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses — with 
the  striking  tribute  to  his  modesty  which  he  won  from  the 
Speaker — and  his  subsequent  election  to  the  Continental 
Congress  at  Philadelphia,  where  on  the  15th  of  June,  1775, 
at  the  instance  of  John  Adams  and  on  the  motion  of  Thomas 
Johnson,  afterward  Governor  of  Maryland,  he  was  unani- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  57 

mously  appointed  u  General  and  Commander-in-Chief  of 
such  Forces  as  are,  or  shall  be,  raised  for  the  maintenance 
and  preservation  of  American  Liberty."  Nor  can  any  of  us 
require  to  be  reminded  of  the  heroic  fortitude,  the  unswerv- 
ing constancy,  and  the  unsparing  self-devotion  with  which 
he  conducted  through  seven  or  eight  years  that  protracted 
contest,  with  all  its  toils  and  trials,  its  vexations  and  vicis- 
situdes, from  the  successful  Siege  of  Boston,  his  first  great 
triumph,  followed  by  those  masterly  movements  on  the  Del- 
aware, which  no  less  celebrated  a  soldier  than  Frederick  the 
Great  declared  "the  most  brilliant  achievements  of  any 
recorded  in  the  annals  of  military  action" — and  so  along — 
through  all  the  successes  and  reverses  and  sufferings  and 
trials  of  Monmouth  and  Brandy  wine  and  German  town  and 
Valley  Forge — to  the  Siege  of  Yorktown,  in  1781,  where, 
with  the  aid  of  our  generous  and  gallant  allies,  under  the 
lead  of  Rochambeau  and  De  Grasse  and  Lafayette,  he  won 
at  last  that  crowning  victory  on  the  soil  of  his  beloved  Vir- 
ginia. 

Nor  need  I  recall  to  you  the  still  nobler  triumphs  wit- 
nessed during  all  this  period — triumphs  in  which  no  one 
but  he  had  any  share — triumphs  over  himself;  not  merely 
in  his  magnanimous  appreciation  of  the  exploits  of  his  sub- 
ordinates, even  when  unjustly  and  maliciously  contrasted 
with  disappointments  and  alleged  inaction  of  his  own,  but 
in  repelling  the  machinations  of  discontented  and  mutinous 
officers  at  Newburgh,  in  spurning  overtures  to  invest  him 
with  dictatorial  and  even  Kingly  power,  and  in  finally  sur- 
rendering his  sword  and  commission  so  simply,  so  sublimely, 
to  the  Congress  from  which  he  had  received  them. 

Or,  turning  sharply  from  this  summary  and  familiar 


58         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

sketch  of  his  military  career — of  which,  take  it  for  all  in  all, 
its  long  duration,  its  slender  means,  its  vast  theatre,  its  glo- 
rious aims  and  ends  and  results,  there  is  no  parallel  in  his- 
tory— turning  sharply  from  all  this,  need  I  recall  him,  in 
this  presence,  presiding  with  paramount  influence  and  au- 
thority over  the  Convention  which  framed  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  and  then,  with  such  consummate  dis- 
cretion, dignity,  and  wisdom,  over  the  original  administra- 
tion of  that  Constitution,  when  the  principles  and  precedents 
of  our  great  Federal  system  of  Government  were  molded, 
formed,  and  established? 

It  was  well  said  by  John  Milton,  in  one  of  his  powerful 
Defences  of  the  People  of  England,  "War  has  made  many 
great  whom  Peace  makes  small."  But  of  Washington  we 
may  say,  as  Milton  said  of  Cromwell,  that,  while  War  made 
him  great,  Peace  made  him  greater;  or  rather  that  both  war 
and  peace  alike  gave  opportunity  for  the  display  of  those 
incomparable  innate  qualities  which  no  mere  circumstances 
could  create  or  destroy. 

But  his  sword  was  not  quite  yet  ready  to  rest  quietly  in 
its  scabbard.  Need  I  recall  him  once  more,  after  his  retire- 
ment from  a  second  term  of  the  Chief  Magistracy,  accept- 
ing a  subordinate  position,  under  his  successor  in  the  Presi- 
dency, as  Lieutenant-General  of  the  American  Annies  in 
view  of  an  impending  foreign  war,  which,  thank  God,  was 
so  happily  averted  ? 

Nor  can  any  one  who  hears  me  require  to  be  reminded  of 
that  last  scene  of  all,  when,  in  his  eight-and-sixtieth  year, 
having  been  overtaken  by  a  fatal  shower  of  sleet  and  snow 
in  the  midst  of  those  agricultural  pursuits  in  which  he  so 
much  delighted  at  Mount  Vernon,  he  laid  himself  calmly 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  go 

down  to  die— "not  afraid  to  go,"  as  lie  whispered  to  his 
physician— and  left  his  whole  country  in  tears  such  as  had 
never  flowed  before.  "Mark  the  perfect  man  and  behold 
the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace!" 

Eighty-five  years  ago  to-morrow— his  sixty-eighth  birth- 
day— was  solemnly  assigned  by  Congress  for  a  general  mani- 
festation of  that  overwhelming  national  sorrow,  and  for  the 
commemoration,  by  eulogies,  addresses,  sermons,  and  relig- 
ious rites,  of  the  great  life  which  had  thus  been  closed.  But 
long  before  that  anniversary  arrived,  and  one  day  only  after 
the  sad  tidings  had  reached  the  seat  of  Government  in  Phil- 
adelphia, President  John  Adams,  in  reply  to  a  message  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  had  anticipated  all  panegyrics 
by  a  declaration,  as  true  to-day  as  it  was  then,  that  he  was 
"the  most  illustrious  and  beloved  personage  which  this 
country  ever  produced";  while  Henry  Eee,  of  Virginia, 
through  the  lips  of  John  Marshall,  had  summed  up  and 
condensed  all  that  was  felt,  and  all  that  could  be  or  ever 
can  be  said,  in  those  imperishable  words,  which  will  go 
ringing  down  the  centuries,  in  every  clime,  in  every  tongue, 
till  time  shall  be  no  more,  ' '  First  in  War,  First  in  Peace, 
and  First  in  the  hearts  of  his  Countrymen ! ' ' 

But  there  are  other  imperishable  words  which  will  resound 
through  the  ages — words  of  his  own  not  less  memorable  than 
his  acts — some  of  them  in  private  letters,  some  of  them 
in  official  correspondence,  some  of  them  in  inaugural 
addresses,  and  some  of  them,  I  need  not  say,  in  that  im- 
mortal Farewell  Address  which  an  eminent  English  his- 
torian has  pronounced  "unequaled  by  any  composition  of 
uninspired  wisdom,"  and  which  ought  to  be  learned  by 
heart  by  the  children  of  our  schools,  like  the  Laws  of  the 


60         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

Twelve  Tables  in  the  schools  of  ancient  Rome,  and  never 
forgotten  when  those  children  grow  up  to  the  privileges  and 
responsibilities  of  manhood. 

It  was  a  custom  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  from  whom  the 
idea  of  our  Monument  has  been  borrowed — I  should  rather 
say,  evolved—  to  cover  their  obelisks  with  hieroglyphical  in- 
scriptions, some  of  which  have  to  this  day  perplexed  and 
baffled  all  efforts  to  decipher  them.  Neither  Champollion, 
nor  the  later  Lepsius,  nor  any  of  the  most  skillful  Egypt- 
ologists, have  succeeded  in  giving  an  altogether  satisfactory 
reading  of  the  legends  on  Pompey's  Pillar  and  Cleopatra's 
Needle.  And  those  legends,  at  their  best — engraved,  as  they 
were,  on  the  granite  or  porphyry,  with  the  letters  enameled 
with  gold,  and  boasted  of  as  illuminating  the  world  with 
their  rays — tell  us  little  except  the  dates  and  doings  of  some 
despotic  Pharaoh,  whom  we  would  willingly  have  seen 
drowned  in  the  ocean  of  oblivion,  as  one  of  them  so  deserv- 
edly was  in  the  depths  of  the  Red  Sea.  Several  of  the  in- 
scriptions on  Cleopatra's  Needle,  as  it  so  strangely  greets  us 
in  the  fashionable  promenade  of  our  commercial  capital,  in- 
form us  in  magniloquent  terms,  of  Thothmes  III,  who  lived 
in  the  age  preceding  that  in  which  Moses  was  born,  styling 
him  a  " Child  of  the  Sun,"  "Lord  of  the  Two  Worlds," 
"Endowed  and  endowing  with  power,  life,  and  stability." 
Other  inscriptions  designate  him,  or  Rameses  II — the  great 
oppressor  of  the  Israelites — as  the  "Chastiser  of  Foreign 
Nations,"  "The  Conqueror,"  "The  Strong  Bull! " 

Our  Washington  Needle,  while  it  has  all  of  the  severe 
simplicity,  and  far  more  than  all  of  the  massive  grandeur, 
which  were  the  characteristics  of  Egyptian  architecture, 
bears  no  inscriptions  whatever,  and  none  are  likely  ever  to 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument  6] 

be  carved  on  "it.  Around  its  base  bas-reliefs  in  bronze  may 
possibly  one  day  be  placed,  illustrative  of  some  of  the  great 
events  of  Washington's  life;  while  on  the  terrace  beneath 
may,  perhaps,  be  arranged  emblematic  figures  of  Justice  and 
Patriotism,  of  Peace,  Liberty,  and  Union.  All  this,  how- 
ever, may  well  be  left  for  future  years,  or  even  for  future 
generations.  Each  succeeding  generation,  indeed,  will  take 
its  own  pride  in  doing  whatever  may  be  wisely  done  in 
adorning  the  surroundings  of  this  majestic  pile,  and  in  thus 
testifying  its  own  homage  to  the  memory  of  the  Father  of 
his  Country.  Yet  to  the  mind's  eye  of  an  American  Patriot 
those  marble  faces  will  never  seem  vacant — never  seem  void 
or  voiceless.  No  mystic  figures  or  hieroglyphical  signs  will, 
indeed,  be  descried  on  them.  No  such  vainglorious  words 
as  * '  Conqueror, 5 '  or  "  Chastiser  of  Foreign  Nations, ' '  nor  any 
such  haughty  assumption  or  heathen  ascription  as  11  Child  of 
the  Sun,"  will  be  deciphered  on  them.  But  ever  and  anon, 
as  he  gazes,  there  will  come  flashing  forth  in  letters  of  living 
light  some  of  the  great  words,  and  grand  precepts,  and  noble 
lessons  of  principle  and  duty  which  are  the  matchless  be- 
quest of  Washington  to  his  country  and  to  mankind. 

Can  we  not  all  read  there  already,  as  if  graven  by  some 
invisible  finger,  or  inscribed  with  some  sympathetic  ink — 
which  it  requires  no  learning  of  scholars,  no  lore  of  Egypt, 
nothing  but  love  of  our  own  land,  to  draw  out  and  make 
legible — those  masterly  words  of  his  Eetter  to  the  Governors 
of  the  States  in  1783: 

' '  There  are  four  things  which,  I  humbly  conceive,  are  es- 
sential to  the  well-being — I  may  even  venture  to  say,  to  the 
existence — of  the  United  States  as  an  independent  Power: 
First,  an  indissoluble  Union  of  the  States  under  one  Federal 


62         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

head;  Second,  a  sacred  regard  to  Public  Justice;  Third,  the 
adoption  of  a  proper  Peace  Establishment;  and,  Fourth,  the 
prevalence  of  that  pacific  and  friendly  disposition  among 
the  People  of  the  United  States  which  will  induce  them  to 
forget  their  local  prejudices  and  policies,  to  make  those 
mutual  concessions  which  are  requisite  to  the  general  pros- 
perity, and,  in  some  instances,  to  sacrifice  their  individual 
advantages  to  the  interest  of  the  Community.  These  are 
the  Pillars  on  which  the  glorious  fabric  of  our  Independency 
and  National  Character  must  be  supported. ' ' 

Can  we  not  read,  again,  on  another  of  those  seemingly 
vacant  sides,  that  familiar  passage  in  his  Farewell  Address — 
a  jewel  of  thought  and  phraseology,  often  imitated,  but 
never  matched — uThe  name  of  American,  which  belongs 
to  you  in  your  National  capacity,  must  always  exalt  the  just 
pride  of  patriotism  more  than  any  appellation  derived  from 
local  discriminations?"  and,  not  far  below  it,  his  memora- 
ble warning  against  Party  Spirit — UA  fire  not  to  be  quenched, 
it  demands  a  uniform  vigilance  to  prevent  its  bursting  into 
a  flame,  lest,  instead  of  warming,  it  should  consume?" 

Still  again,  terser  legends  from  the  same  prolific  source 
salute  our  eager  gaze :  ( '  Cherish  Public  Credit; "  "  Observe 
good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  Nations;  cultivate  peace 
and  harmony  with  all;"  "Promote,  as  an  object  of  primary 
importance,  institutions  for  the  general  diffusion  of  Knowl- 
edge. In  proportion  as  the  structure  of  a  Government  gives 
force  to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion 
should  be  enlightened." 

And,  above  all — a  thousand-fold  more  precious  than  all 
the  rest — there  will  come  streaming  down  from  time  to  time, 
to  many  an  eager  and  longing  eye,  from  the  very  point  where 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument  63 

its  tiny  aluminium  apex  reaches  nearest  to  the  skies— and 
shining  forth  with  a  radiance  which  110  vision  of  Constau- 
tine,  no  labarum  for  his  legions,  could  ever  have  eclipsed— 
some  of  those  solemnly  reiterated  declarations  and  counsels, 
which  might  almost  be  called  the  Confession  and  Creed  of 
Washington,  and  which  can  never  be  forgotten  by  any  Chris- 
tian Patriot : 

"When  I  contemplate  the  interposition  of  Providence,  as 
it  was  visibly  manifest  in  guiding  us  through  the  Revolu- 
tion, in  preparing  us  for  the  reception  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, and  in  conciliating  the  good-will  of  the  people  of 
America  toward  one  another  after  its  adoption,  I  feel  myself 
oppressed  and  almost  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of  Divine 
munificence.  I  feel  that  nothing  is  due  to  my  personal 
agency  in  all  those  wonderful  and  complicated  events,  ex- 
cept what  can  be  attributed  to  an  honest  zeal  for  the  good 
of  my  country."  "No  people  can  be  bound  to  acknowl- 
edge and  adore  an  Invisible  Hand  which  conducts  the  affairs 
of  men  more  than  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Every 
step  by  which  they  have  advanced  to  the  character  of  an 
Independent  Nation  seems  to  have  been  distinguished  by 
some  token  of  Providential  Agency. "  "  Of  all  the  disposi- 
tions and  habits  which  lead  to  political  prosperity,  Religion 
and  Morality  are  indispensable  supports.  In  vain  would 
that  man  claim  the  tribute  of  patriotism,  who  should  labor 
to  subvert  these  great  pillars  of  human  happiness,  these 
firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  men  and  of  citizens." 

And  thus  on  all  those  seemingly  blank  and  empty  sides 
will  be  read,  from  time  to  time,  in  his  own  unequaled  lan- 
guage, the  grand  precepts  and  principles  of  Peace,  Justice, 
Education,  Morality,  and  Religion,  which  he  strove  to  incul- 


64         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

cate,  while  encircling  and  illuminating  them  all,  and  envel- 
oping the  whole  monument,  from, corner-stone  to  cap-stone, 
will  be  hailed  with  rapture  by  every  patriotic  eye,  and  be 
echoed  by  every  patriotic  heart,  1 '  The  Union,  the  Union  in 
any  event !" 

But  what  are  all  the  noble  words  which  Washington 
wrote  or  uttered,  what  are  all  the  incidents  of  his  birth  and 
death,  what  are  all  the  details  of  his  marvelous  career  from 
its  commencement  to  its  close,  in  comparison  with  his  own 
exalted  character  as  a  Man?  Rarely  was  Webster  more 
impressive  than  when,  on  the  completion  of  the  monument 
at  Bunker  Hill,  in  describing  what  our  Country  had  accom- 
plished for  the  welfare  of  mankind,  he  gave  utterance,  with 
his  characteristic  terseness  and  in  his  inimitable  tones,  to 
the  simple  assertion,  "America  has  furnished  to  the  world 
the  character  of  Washington!"  And  well  did  he  add  that, 
"if  our  American  institutions  had  done  nothing  else,  that 
alone  would  have  entitled  them  to  the  respect  of  mankind." 

The  character  of  Washington!  Who  can  delineate  it 
worthily?  Who  can  describe  that  priceless  gift  of  America 
to  the  world  in  terms  which  may  do  it  any  sort  of  justice, 
or  afford  any  degree  of  satisfaction  to  his  hearers  or  to  him- 
self? 

Modest,  disinterested,  generous,  just — of  clean  hands  and 
a  pure  heart — self-denying  and  self-sacrificing,  seeking 
nothing  for  himself,  declining  all  remuneration  beyond  the 
reimbursement  of  his  outlays,  scrupulous  to  a  farthing  in 
keeping  his  accounts,  of  spotless  integrity,  scorning  gifts, 
charitable  to  the  needy,  forgiving  injuries  and  injustices, 
brave,  fearless,  heroic,  with  a  prudence  ever  governing  his 
impulses  and  a  wisdom  ever  guiding  his  valor — true  to  his 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  65 
friends,  true  to  his  whole  country,  true  to  himself— fearing 
God,  believing  in  Christ,  no  stranger  to  private  devotion  or 
public  worship  or  to  the  holiest  offices  of  the  Church  to  which 
he  belonged,  but  ever  gratefully  recognizing  a  Divine  aid  and 
direction  in  all  that  he  attempted  and  in  all  that  lie  accom- 
plished—what epithet,  what  attribute  could  be  added  to  that 
consummate  character  to  commend  it  as  an  example  above 
all  other  characters  in  merely  human  history! 

From  first  to  last  he  never  solicited  or  sought  an  office 
military  or  civil.    Every  office  stood  candidate  for  him,  and 
was  ennobled  by  his  acceptance  of  it.    Honors  clustered 
around  him  as  if  by  the  force  of  "first  intention."  Respon- 
sibilities heaped  themselves  on  his  shoulders  as  if  by  the 
law  of  gravitation.    They  could  rest  safely  nowhere  else, 
and  they  found  him  ever  ready  to  bear  them  all,  ever  equal 
to  discharge  them  all.    To  what  is  called  personal  magnet- 
ism he  could  have  had  little  pretension.    A  vein  of  dignified 
reserve,  which  Houdon  and  Stuart  have  rightly  made  his 
peculiar  characteristic  in  marble  and  on  canvas,  repressed 
all  familiarities  with  him.    His  magnetism  was  that  of 
merit — superior,  surpassing  merit— the  merit  of  spotless 
integrity,  of  recognized  ability,  and  of  unwearied  willing- 
ness to  spend  and  be  spent  in  the  service  of  his  country. 
That  was  sufficient  to  attract  irresistibly  to  his  support  not 
only  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  but  the  wisest  and  best 
of  his  contemporaries  in  all  quarters  of  the  Union,  and  from 
them  he  selected,  with  signal  discrimination,  such  advisers 
and  counselors,  in  War  and  in  Peace,  as  have  never  sur- 
rounded any  other  American  leader.    No  jealousy  of  their 
abilities  and  accomplishments  ever  ruffled  his  breast,  and 
with  them  he  achieved  our  Independence,  organized  our 


5  w  M 


66         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

Constitutional  Government,  and  stamped  his  name  indelibly 
on  the  age  in  which  he  lived  as  the  Age  of  Washington! 

Well  did  Chief-Justice  Marshall,  in  that  admiral  Preface  to 
the  biography  of  his  revered  and  illustrious  friend,  sum  up 
with  judicial  precision  the  services  he  was  about  to  describe 
in  detail.  Well  and  truly  did  he  say,  '  'As  if  the  chosen  in- 
strument of  Heaven,  selected  for  the  purpose  of  effecting 
the  great  designs  of  Providence  respecting  this  our  Western 
Hemisphere,  it  was  the  peculiar  lot  of  this  distinguished 
man,  at  every  epoch  when  the  destinies  of  his  country 
seemed  dependent  on  the  measures  adopted,  to  be  called  by 
the  united  voice  of  his  fellow-citizens  to  those  high  stations 
on  which  the  success  of  those  measures  principally  de- 
pended. ' ' 

And  not  less  justly  has  Bancroft  said,  when  describing 
Washington's  first  inauguration  as  President:  "But  for  him 
the  Country  could  not  have  achieved  its  Independence ;  but 
for  him  it  could  not  have  formed  its  Union;  and  now  but 
for  him  it  could  not  set  the  Federal  Government  in  success- 
ful motion." 

I  do  not  forget  that  there  have  been  other  men,  in  other 
days,  in  other  lands,  and  in  our  own  land,  who  have  been 
called  to  command  larger  armies,  to  preside  over  more  dis- 
tracted councils,  to  administer  more  extended  Governments, 
and  to  grapple  with  as  complicated  and  critical  affairs.  Grat- 
itude and  honor  wait  ever  on  their  persons  and  their  names! 
But  we  do  not  estimate  Miltiades  at  Marathon,  or  Pausanias 
at  Platsea,  or  Themistocles  at  Salamis,  or  Epaminondas  at 
Mantinea  or  Leuctra,  or  Leonidas  at  Thermopylae,  by  the 
number  of  the  forces  which  they  led  on  land  or  on  sea.  Nor 
do  we  gauge  the  glory  of  Columbus  by  the  size  of  the  little 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  67 

fleet  with  which  he  ventured  so  heroically  upon  the  perils  of 
a  mighty  unknown  deep.  There  are  some  circumstances 
which  can  not  occur  twice;  sonic  occasions  of  which  there 
can  be  no  repetition;  some  names  which  will  always  assert 
their  individual  pre-eminence,  and  will  admit  of  no  rivalry  or 
comparison.  The  glory  of  Columbus  can  never  be  eclipsed, 
never  approached,  till  our  New  World  shall  require  a  fresh 
discovery;  and  the  glory  of  Washington  will  remain  unique 
and  peerless  until  American  Independence  shall  require  to 
be  again  achieved,  or  the  foundations  of  Constitutional  Lib- 
erty to  be  laid  anew. 

Think  not  that  I  am  claiming  an  immaculate  perfection 
for  any  mortal  man.  One  Being  only  has  ever  walked  this 
earth  of  ours  without  sin.  Washington  had  his  infirmities 
and  his  passions  like  the  rest  of  us;  and  he  would  have  been 
more  or  less  than  human  had  he  never  been  overcome  by 
them.  There  were  young  officers  around  him,  in  camp  and 
elsewhere,  not  unlikely  to  have  thrown  temptations  in  his 
path.  There  were  treacherous  men,  also — downright  trai- 
tors, some  of  them — whose  words  in  council,  or  conduct  in 
battle,  or  secret  plottings  behind  his  back,,  aroused  his  right- 
eous indignation,  and  gave  occasion  for  memorable  bursts  of 
anger.  Now  and  then,  too,  there  was  a  disaster,  like  that 
of  St.  Clair's  expedition  against  the  Indians  in  1791,  the 
first  tidings  of  which  stirred  the  very  depths  of  his  soul,  and 
betrayed  him  into  a  momentary  outbreak  of  mingled  grief 
and  rage,  which  only  proved  how  violent  were  the  emotions 
he  was  so  generally  able  to  control. 

While,  however,  not  even  the  polluted  breath  of  slander 
has  left  a  shadow  upon  the  purity  of  his  life,  or  a  doubt  of 
his  eminent  power  of  self-command,  he  made  no  boast  of 


68         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

virtue  or  valor,  and  no  amount  of  flattery  ever  led  him  to  be 
otherwise  than  distrustful  of  his  own  ability  and  merits. 
As  early  as  1757,  when  only  twenty-five  years  of  age,  he 
wrote  to  Governor  Dinwiddie:  "That  I  have  foibles,  and 
perhaps  many  of  them,  I  shall  not  deny;  I  should  esteem 
myself,  as  the  world  also  would,  vain  and  empty  were  I  to 
arrogate  perfection. ' ' 

On  accepting  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, in  1775,  he  said  to  Congress:  "I  beg  it  may  be  remem- 
bered by  every  gentleman  in  the  room  that  I  this  day  de- 
clare, with  the  utmost  sincerity,  I  do  not  think  myself  equal 
to  the  command  I  am  honored  with." 

And,  in  1777,  when  informed  that  anonymous  accusations 
against  him  had  been  sent  to  Laurens,  then  President  of 
Congress,  he  wrote  privately  to  beg  that  the  paper  might  at 
once  be  submitted  to  the  body  to  which  it  was  addressed, 
adding  these  frank  and  noble  words:  "Why  should  I  be  ex- 
empt from  censure — the  unfailing  lot  of  an  elevated  station? 
Merit  and  talents  which  I  cannot  pretend  to  rival  have  ever 
been  subject  to  it.  My  heart  tells  me  it  has  been  my  unre- 
mitted aim  to  do  the  best  which  circumstances  would  per- 
mit; yet  I  may  have  been  very  often  mistaken  in  my  judg- 
ment of  the  means,  and  may,  in  many  instances,  deserve 
the  imputation  of  error." 

And  when  at  last  he  was  contemplating  a  final  retirement 
from  the  Presidency,  and  in  one  of  the  draughts  of  his  Fare- 
well Address  had  written  that  he  withdrew  "with  a  pure 
heart  and  undefiled  hands,"  or  words  to  that  effect,  he  sup- 
pressed the  passage  and  all  other  similar  expressions,  lest, 
as  he  suggested,  he  should  seem  to  claim  for  himself  a  meas- 
ure of  perfection  which  all  the  world  now  unites  in  accord- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  (nj 
ing  to  him.  For  I  hazard  little  in  asserting  that  all  the 
world  does  now  accord  to  Washington  a  tribute,  which  has 
the  indorsement  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  that  "of 
all  men  that  have  ever  lived,  he  was  the  greatest  of  good 
men,  and  the  best  of  great  men."  Or,  let  me  borrow  the 
same  idea  from  a  renowned  English  poet,  who  gave  his 
young  life  and  brilliant  genius  to  the  cause  of  Liberty  in 
modern  Greece.     "Where,"  wrote  Byron— 

"  Where  may  the  wearied  eye  repose 

When  gazing  on  the  great, 
Where  neither  guilty  glory  glows, 

Nor  despicable  state ! 
Yes,  One  — the  first,  the  last,  the  best, 
The  Cincinnatus  of  the  West, 

Whom  envy  dared  not  hate  — 
Bequeathed  the  name  of  Washington, 
To  make  men  blush  there  was  but  One!  " 

To  what  other  name  have  such  tributes  ever  been  paid  by 
great  and  good  men  abroad  as  well  as  at  home?  You  have 
not  forgotten  the  language  of  Lord  Erskine  in  his  inscrip- 
tion of  one  of  his  productions  to  Washington  himself: 
"  You  are  the  only  being  for  whom  I  have  an  awful  rever- 
ence. ' ' 

You  have  not  forgotten  the  language  of  Charles  James  Fox, 
in  the  House  of  Commons:  "  Illustrious  Man,  before  whom 
all  borrowed  greatness  sinks  into  insignificance." 

You  have  not  forgotten  the  language  of  Iyord  Brougham, 
twice  nttered,  at  long  intervals,  and  with  a  purpose,  as 
Brougham  himself  once  told  me,  to  impress  and  enforce 
those  emphatic  words  as  his  fixed  and  final  judgment: 
"  Until  time  shall  be  no  more  will  a  test  of  the  progre  ss 
which  our  race  has  made  in  Wisdom  and  Virtue  be  derived 


jo         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

from  the  veneration  paid  to  the  immortal  name  of  Wash- 
ington ! ' ' 

Nor  can  I  fail  to  welcome  the  crowning  tribute,  perhaps, 
from  our  mother  land — reaching  me,  as  it  has,  at  the  last  mo- 
ment of  revising  what  I  had  prepared  for  this  occasion — in  a 
published  letter  from  Gladstone,  her  great  Prime  Minister, 
who,  after  saying  in  casual  conversation  that  Washington 
was  ' (  the  purest  figure  in  history, ' '  writes  deliberately,  ' '  that 
if,  among  all  the  pedestals  supplied  by  history  for  public 
characters  of  extraordinary  nobility  and  purity,  I  saw  one 
higher  than  all  the  rest,  and  if  I  were  required  at  a  moment's 
notice  to  name  the  fittest  occupant  for  it,  I  think  my  choice, 
at  any  time  during  the  last  forty-five  years,  would  have 
lighted,  and  it  would  now  light,  upon  Washington!" 

But  if  any  one  would  get  a  full  impression  of  the  affection 
and  veneration  in  which  Washington  was  held  by  his  con- 
temporaries, let  him  turn,  almost  at  random,  to  the  letters 
which  were  addressed  to  him,  or  which  were  written  about 
him,  by  the  eminent  men,  military  or  civil,  American  or 
European,  who  were  privileged  to  correspond  with  him,  or 
who,  ever  so  casually,  found  occasion  to  allude  to  his  career 
and  character.  And  let  him  by  no  means  forget,  as  he  reads 
them,  that  those  letters  were  written  a  hundred  years  ago, 
when  language  was  more  measured,  if  not  more  sincere, 
than  now,  and  before  the  indiscriminate  use  of  the  superla- 
tive, and  the  exaggerations  and  adulations  of  flatterers  and 
parasites,  sending  great  and  small  alike  down  to  posterity  as 
patterns  of  every  virtue  under  Heaven,  had  tended  to  render 
such  tributes  as  suspicious  as  they  often  are  worthless. 

What,  for  instance,  said  plain-speaking  old  Benjamin 
Franklin?  u  My  fine  crab-tree  walking-stick,  with  a  gold 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.         7 1 

head  curiously  wrought  in  the  form  of  the  cap  of  liberty," — 
these  are  the  words  of  his  Will  in  1789 — "I  give  to  my  friend 
and  the  friend  of  mankind  George  Washington.  If  it  were 
a  sceptre,  he  has  merited  it,  and  would  become  it." 

"  Happy,  happy  America;"  wrote  Gouverneur  Morris  from 
Paris,  in  1793,  when  the  French  Revolution  was  making 
such  terrific  progress — "happy,  happy  America,  governed 
by  reason,  by  law,  by  the  man  whom  she  loves,  whom  she 
almost  adores!  It  is  the  pride  of  my  life  to  consider  that 
man  as  my  friend,  and  I  hope  long  to  be  honored  with  that 
title." 

ilI  have  always  admired,"  wrote  to  him  Count  Herz- 
burg,  from  Berlin,  where  he  had  presided  for  thirty  years 
over  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs,  under  Frederick  the 
Great — UI  have  always  admired  your  great  virtues  and 
qualities,  your  disinterested  patriotism,  your  unshaken 
courage  and  simplicity  of  manners — qualifications  by  which 
you  surpass  men  even  the  most  celebrated  of  antiquity." 

"I  am  sorry,"  wrote  Patrick  Henry,  then  Governor  of 
Virginia,  in  allusion  to  the  accusations  of  one  of  the  no- 
torious faction  of  1777 — "lam  sorry  there  should  be  one 
man  who  counts  himself  my  friend  who  is  not  yours." 

Thomas  Jefferson,  who,  we  all  know,  sometimes  differed 
from  him,  took  pains,  at  a  later  period  of  his  life,  to  say  of 
him  in  a  record  for  posterity:  1 1  His  integrity  was  most  pure ; 
his  justice  the  most  inflexible  I  have  ever  known;  no 
motives  of  interest  or  consanguinity,  of  friendship  or  hatred, 
being  able  to  bias  his  decision.  He  was,  indeed,  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  a  wise,  a  good,  and  a  great  man."  And 
when  it  was  once  suggested  to  him,  not  long  before  his 
own  death,  that  the  fame  of  Washington  might  lessen 


72         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

with  the  lapse  of  years,  Jefferson,  looking  up  to  the  sky, 
and  in  a  tone  which  betrayed  deep  emotion,  is  said  to  have 
replied:  "Washington's  fame  will  go  on  increasing  until 
the  brightest  constellation  in  yonder  heavens  is  called  by 
his  name ! ' ' 

"If  I  could  now  present  myself,"  wrote  Edmund  Ran- 
dolph, who  had  made  injurious  imputations  on  Washington 
before  and  after  his  dismissal  from  the  Cabinet  in  1795— 
"if  I  could  now  present  myself  before  your  venerated  uncle, ' ' 
he  wrote  most  touchingly  to  Judge  Bushrod  Washington  in 
1810,  "it  would  be  my  pride  to  confess  my  contrition  that 
I  suffered  my  irritation,  let  the  cause  be  what  it  might,  to 
use  some  of  those  expressions  respecting  him,  which,  at  this 
moment  of  indifference  to  the  world,  I  wish  to  recall,  as 
being  inconsistent  with  my  subsequent  conviction.  My  life 
will,  I  hope,  be  sufficiently  extended  for  the  recording  of 
my  sincere  opinion  of  his  virtues  and  merit  in  a  style  which 
is  not  the  result  of  a  mind  merely  debilitated  by  misfortune, 
but  of  that  Christian  Philosophy  on  which  alone  I  depend 
for  inward  tranquillity." 

And  far  more  touching  and  more  telling  still  is  the  fact 
that  even  Thomas  Conway,  the  leader  of  that  despicable 
cabal  at  Valley  Forge,  but  who  lived  to  redeem  his  name  in 
other  lands,  if  not  in  our  own — when  believing  himself  to 
be  mortally  wounded  in  a  duel,  in  1778,  and  "just  able,"  as 
he  said,  "to  hold  the  pen  for  a  few  minutes" — employed 
those  few  minutes  in  writing  to  Washington  to  express  his 
"sincere  grief  for  having  done,  written,  or  said  anything 
disagreeable ' '  to  him,  adding  these  memorable  words :  ' '  You 
are,  in  my  eyes,  the  great  and  good  man.    May  you  long 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  7  j 
enjoy  the  love,  veneration,  and  esteem  of  these  Slates,  whose 
liberties  yon  have  asserted  by  your  virtues!" 

From  his  illustrious  friend  Alexander  Hamilton  T  need 
not  cite  a  word.  His  whole  life  bore  testimony,  more  im- 
pressive than  words,  to  an  admiration  and  affection  for  his 
great  chief,  which  could  not  be  exceeded,  and  which  no 
momentary  misunderstandings  could  shake. 

But  listen  once  more,  and  only  once  more,  to  Lafayette, 
writing  to  Washington  from  Cadiz,  in  1783,  when  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  had  just  reached  him :  1  <  Were 
you  but  such  a  man  as  Julius  Caesar,- or  the  King  of  Prussia, 
I  should  almost  be  sorry  for  you  at  the  end  of  the  great 
tragedy  where  you  are  acting  such  a  part.  But,  with  my 
dear  General,  I  rejoice  at  the  blessings  of  a  Peace  in  which 
our  noble  ends  have  been  secured.  ...  As  for  you 
who  truly  can  say  you  have  done  all  this,  what  must  your 
virtuous  and  good  heart  feel  in  the  happy  moment  when  the 
Revolution  you  have  made  is  now  firmly  established!" 

Rightly  and  truly  did  Lafayette  say  that  his  beloved 
General  was  of  another  spirit  and  of  a  different  mould  from 
Caesar  and  Frederick.  Washington  had  little,  or  nothing,  in 
common  with  the  great  military  heroes  of  his  own  or  any 
other  age— conquering  for  the  sake  of  conquest— "  wading 
through  slaughter  to  a  throne '  '—and  overrunning  the  world, 
at  a  countless  cost  of  blood  and  treasure,  to  gratify  their  own 
ambition,  or  to  realize  some  mad  dream  of  universal  empire. 
No  ancient  Plutarch  has  furnished  any  just  parallel  for  him 
in  this  respect.  No  modern  Plutarch  will  find  one.  In  all 
history,  ancient  and  modern  alike,  he  stands,  in  this  respect, 
as  individual  and  unique  as  yonder  majestic  Needle. 

In  his  Eulogy  on  Washington  before  the  Legislature  of 


74         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

Massachusetts  the  eloquent  Fisher  Ames,  my  earliest  prede- 
cessor in  Congress  from  the  Boston  district,  said,  eighty-five 
years  ago,  that  in  contemplating  his  career  and  character, 
"Mankind  perceived  some  change  in  their  ideas  of  great- 
ness. .  .  .  The  splendor  of  power,  and  even  the  name 
of  Conqueror,  had  grown  dim  in  their  eyes.  .  .  .  They 
knew  and  felt  that  the  world's  wealth,  and  its  empire  too, 
would  be  a  bribe  far  beneath  his  acceptance. ' '  Yes,  they  all 
saw  that  he  bore  ever  in  his  mind  and  in  his  heart,  as  he 
said  at  Philadelphia  on  his  way  to  Cambridge,  in  1775,  that 
"  as  the  Sword  was  the  last  resort  for  the  preservation  of  our 
liberties,  so  it  ought  to  be  the  first  thing  laid  aside  when 
those  liberties  were  firmly  established. ' '  And  they  saw  him 
lay  down  his  sword  at  the  earliest  moment,  and  retire  to  the 
pursuits  of  peace,  only  returning  again  to  public  service  at 
the  unanimous  call  of  his  country;  to  preside  for  a  limited 
period  over  a  free  Constitutional  Republic,  and  then  eagerly 
resuming  the  rank  of  an  American  Citizen.  That  was  the 
example  which  changed  the  ideas  of  mankind  as  to  what 
constituted  real  greatness.  And  that  example  was  exhibited 
for  all  nations  and  for  all  ages,  never  to  be  forgotten  or  over- 
looked, by  him  who  was  born  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 
years  ago  to-morrow  in  that  primitive  little  Virginia  farm- 
house ! 

I  am  myself  a  New-Englander  by  birth,  a  son  of  Massa- 
chusetts, bound  by  the  strongest  ties  of  affection  and  of  blood 
to  honor  and  venerate  the  earlier  and  the  later  worthies  of 
the  old  Puritan  Commonwealth,  jealous  of  their  fair  fame, 
and  ever  ready  to  assert  and  vindicate  their  just  renown. 
But  I  turn  reverently  to  the  Old  Dominion  to-day,  and  sa- 
lute her  as  the  mother  of  the  pre-eminent  and  incomparable 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.         7  5 

American,  the  Father  of  his  Country,  and  the  foremost  fig- 
ure  in  all  merely  human  history.  In  the  words  of  our  own 
poet  Lowell: 

"Virginia  gave  us  this  imperial  man, 
Cast  in  the  massive  mould 
Of  those  high-statured  ages  old 
Which  into  grander  forms  our  mortal  metal  ran; 
She  gave  us  this  unblemished  gentleman: 
What  shall  we  give  her  back  but  love  and  praise?" 

Virginia  has  had  other  noble  sons,  whom  I  will  not  name, 
but  whom  I  do  not  forget.  When  I  remember  how  many 
they  are,  and  how  great  they  have  been,  and  how  much  our 
country  has  owed  them,  I  may  well  exclaim,  " Felix  prole 
virdm. ' J  But,  as  I  think  of  her  Washington— of  our  Wash- 
ington, let  me  rather  say— I  am  almost  ready  to  add,  "  Lceta 
Deiim  partu  P ' 

A  celebrated  philosopher  of  antiquity,  who  was  nearly 
contemporary  with  Christ,  but  who  could  have  known  noth- 
ing of  what  was  going  on  in  Judea,  and  who  alas!  did  not 
always  "reck  his.  own  rede" — wrote  thus  to  a  younger 
friend,  as  a  precept  for  a  worthy  life :  ' '  Some  good  man  must 
be  singled  out  and  kept  ever  before  our  eyes,  that  we  may 
live  as  if  he  were  looking  on,  and  do  everything  as  if  he 
could  see  it. ' ' 

L,et  me  borrow  the  spirit,  if  not  the  exact  letter,  of  that 
precept,  and  address  it  to  the  young  men  of  my  Country: 
"Keep  ever  in  your  mind  and  before  your  mind's  eye  the 
loftiest  standard  of  character.  You  have  it,  I  need  not  say, 
supremely  and  unapproachably,  in  Him  who  spake  as  never 
man  spake  and  lived  as  never  man  lived,  and  who  died  for 
the  sins  of  the  world.  That  character  stands  apart  and  alone. 
But  of  merely  mortal  men  the  monument  we  have  dedicated 


76         Dedication  of  tJie  Washington  National  Monument. 

to-day  points  out  the  one  for  all  Americans  to  study,  to  imi- 
tate, and,  as  far  as  may  be,  to  emulate.  Keep  his  example 
and  his  character  ever  before  your  eyes  and  in  your  hearts. 
Live  and  act  as  if  he  were  seeing  and  judging  your  personal 
conduct  and  your  public  career.  Strive  to  approximate  that 
lofty  standard,  and  measure  your  integrity  and  your  patriot- 
ism by  your  nearness  to  it  or  your  departure  from  it.  The 
prime  meridian  of  universal  longitude,  on  sea  or  land,  may 
be  at  Greenwich,  or  at  Paris,  or  where  you  will.  But  the 
prime  meridian  of  pure,  disinterested,  patriotic,  exalted  hu- 
man character  will  be  marked  forever  by  yonder  Washing- 
ton Obelisk!" 

Yes,  to  the  Young  Men  of  America,  under  God,  it  remains, 
as  they  rise  up  from  generation  to  generation,  to  shape  the 
destinies  of  their  Country's  future — and  woe  unto  them  if, 
regardless  of  the  great  example  which  is  set  before  them, 
they  prove  unfaithful  to  the  tremendous  responsibilities 
which  rest  upon  them! 

Yet,  let  me  not  seem  even  for  a  moment  to  throw  off  upon 
the  children  the  rightful  share  of  those  responsibilities  which 
belongs  to  their  fathers.  Upon  us,  upon  us  it  devolves  to 
provide  that  the  advancing  generations  shall  be  able  to  com- 
prehend and  equal  to  meet  the  demands  which  are  thus  be- 
fore them.  It  is  ours — it  is  yours  especially,  Senators  and 
Representatives — to  supply  them  with  the  means  of  that 
Universal  Education  which  is  the  crying  want  of  our  land, 
and  without  which  any  intelligent  and  successful  Free  Gov- 
ernment is  impossible. 

We  are  just  entering  on  a  new  Olympiad  of  our  national 
history — the  twenty-fifth  Olympiad  since  Washington  first 
entered  on  the  administration  of  our  Constitutional  Govern- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  77 

ment.  The  will  of  the  People  has  already  designated  under 
whom  the  first  century  of  that  Government  is  to  be  closed, 
and  the  best  hopes  and  wishes  of  every  patriot  will  be  with 
him  in  the  great  responsibilities  on  which  he  is  about  to 
enter.  No  distinction  of  party  or  of  section  prevents  our  all 
feeling  alike  that  our  Country,  by  whomsoever  governed, 
is  still  and  always  our  Country,  to  be  cherished  in  all  our 
hearts,  to  be  upheld  and  defended  by  all  our  hands! 

Most  happy  would  it  be  if  the  30th  of  April,  on  which 
the  first  Inauguration  of  Washington  took  place  in  1789, 
could  henceforth  be  the  date  of  all  future  inaugurations — as 
it  might  be  by  a  slight  amendment  to  the  Constitution — 
giving,  as  it  would,  a  much-needed  extension  to  the  short 
sessions  of  Congress,  and  letting  the  second  century  of  our 
Constitutional  History  begin  where  the  first  century  practi- 
cally began. 

But  let  the  date  be  what  it  may,  the  inspiration  of  the 
Centennial  Anniversary  of  that  first  great  Inauguration 
must  not  be  lost  upon  us.  Would  that  any  words  of  mine 
could  help  us  all,  old  and  young,  to  resolve  that  the  princi- 
ples and  character  and  example  of  Washington,  as  he  came 
forward  to  take  the  oaths  of  office  011  that  day,  shall  once 
more  be  recognized  and  reverenced  as  the  model  for  all  who 
succeed  him,  and  that  his  disinterested  purity  and  patriot- 
ism shall  be  the  supreme  test  and  standard  of  American 
statesmanship!  That  standard  can  never  be  taken  away 
from  us.  The  most  elaborate  and  durable  monuments  may 
perish.  But  neither  the  forces  of  nature,  nor  any  fiendish 
crime  of  man,  can  ever  mar  or  mutilate  a  great  example  of 
public  or  private  virtue. 

Our  matchless  Obelisk  stands  proudly  before  us  to-day, 
and  we  hail  it  with  the  exultations  of  a  united  and  glorious 


78        Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument 

Nation.  It  may  or  may  not  be  proof  against  the  cavils  of 
critics,  but  nothing  of  human  construction  is  proof  against 
the  casualties  of  time.  The  storms  of  winter  must  blow 
and  beat  upon  it.  The  action  of  the  elements  must  soil 
and  discolor  it.  The  lightnings  of  Heaven  may  scar  and 
blacken  it.  An  earthquake  may  shake  its  foundations. 
Some  mighty  tornado,  or  resistless  cyclone,  may  rend  its 
massive  blocks  asunder  and  hurl  huge  fragments  to  the 
ground.  But  the  character  which  it  commemorates  and 
illustrates  is  secure.  It  will  remain  unchanged  and  un- 
changeable in  all  its  consummate  purity  and  splendor,  and 
will  more  and  more  command  the  homage  of  succeeding 
ages  in  all  regions  of  the  Earth. 
God  be  praised,  that  character  is  ours  forever! 

The  reading  of  Mr.  Winthrop's  oration,  which  was  fre- 
quently interrupted  by  applause,  was  followed  by  music 
from  the  Marine  Band. 

The  President  oe  the  Senate.  Gentlemen,  an  ora- 
tion will  now  be  delivered  by  Hon.  John  W.  Daniel,  of 
Virginia. 

ORATION    BY    HON.    JOHN    W.  DANIEL. 

Mr.  President  of  the  United  States,  Senators,  Representa- 
tives, Judges,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  my  Countrymen: 
Alone  in  its  grandeur  stands  forth  the  character  of  Wash- 
ington in  history;  alone  like  some  peak  that  has  no  fellow 
in  the  mountain  range  of  greatness. 

"  Washington, "  says  Guizot,  "  Washington  did  the  two 
greatest  things  which  in  politics  it  is  permitted  to  man  to 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  79 

attempt.  He  maintained  by  Peace  the  independence  of  his 
country,  which  he  had  conquered  by  War.  He  founded  a 
free  government  in  the  name  of  the  principles  of  order  and 
by  re-establishing  their  sway. ' ' 

Washington  did  indeed  do  these  things.  But  he  did 
more.  Out  of  disconnected  fragments  he  molded  a  whole 
and  made  it  a  country.  He  achieved  his  country1  s  inde- 
pendence by  the  sword.  He  maintained  that  independe  nce 
by  peace  as  by  war.  He  finally  established  both  his  coun- 
try and  its  freedom  in  an  enduring  frame  of  constitutional 
government,  fashioned  to  make  Liberty  and  Union  one  and 
inseparable.  These  four  things  together  constitute  the  un- 
exampled achievement  of  Washington. 

The  world  has  ratified  the  profound  remark  of  Fisher 
Ames,  that  uhe  changed  mankind's  ideas  of  political  great- 
ness."   It  has  approved  the  opinion  of  Edward  Everett, 
that  he  was  "the  greatest  of  good  men,  and  the  best  of 
great  men."    It  has  felt  for  him,  with  Erskine,  "an  awful 
reverence."    It  has  attested  the  declaration  of  Brougham, 
that  "he  was  the  greatest  man  of  his  own  or  of  any  age." 
It  is  matter  of  fact  to-day  as  when  General  Hamilton,  an- 
nouncing his  death  to  the  Army,  said,  "The  voice  of  praise 
would  in  vain  endeavor  to  exalt  a  name  unrivaled  in  the 
lists  of  true  glory."    America  still  proclaims  him,  as  did 
Col.  Henry  Lee,  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives "The  man  first  in  peace,  first  in  war,  and  first  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen."    And  from  beyond  the  sea  the 
voice  of  Alfieri,  breathing  the  soul  of  all  lands  and  peoples, 
still  pronounces  the  blessing,  "Happy  are  you  who  have 
for  the  sublime  and  permanent  basis  of  your  glory  the  love 
of  country  demonstrated  by  deeds." 


80         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

Ye  who  have  unrolled  the  scrolls  that  tell  the  tale  of  the 
rise  and  fall  of  nations;  before  whose  eyes  has  moved  the 
panorama  of  man's  struggles,  achievements,  and  progres- 
sion, find  you  anywhere  the  story  of  one  whose  life-work  is 
more  than  a  fragment  of  that  which  in  his  life  is  set  before 
you?  Conquerors,  who  have  stretched  your  scepters  over 
boundless  territories;  founders  of  empire,  who  have  held 
your  dominions  in  the  reign  of  law;  reformers,  who  have 
cried  aloud  in  the  wilderness  of  oppression;  teachers,  who 
have  striven  with  reason  to  cast  down  false  doctrine,  heresy, 
and  schism;  statesmen,  whose  brains  have  throbbed  with 
mighty  plans  for  the  amelioration  of  human  society;  scar- 
crowned  Vikings  of  the  sea,  illustrious  heroes  of  the  land,  wh  o 
have  borne  the  standards  of  siege  and  battle — come  forth  in 
bright  array  from  your  glorious  fanes — and  would  ye  be 
measured  by  the  measure  of  his  stature?  Behold  you  not  in 
him  a  more  illustrious  and  more  venerable  presence? 

Statesman,  Soldier,  Patriot,  Sage,  Reformer  of  Creeds, 
teacher  of  Truth  and  Justice,  Achiever  and  Preserver  of 
Liberty  —  the  First  of  Men  —  Founder  and  Savior  of  his 
Country,  Father  of  his  People — this  is  HE,  solitary  and  un- 
approachable in  his  grandeur.  Oh!  felicitous  Providence 
that  gave  to  America  our  Washington! 

High  soars  into  the  sky  to-day — higher  than  the  Pyramids 
or  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's  or  St.  Peter's — the  loftiest  and 
most  imposing  structure  that  man  has  ever  reared — high 
soars  into  the  sky  to  where 

"  Earth  highest  yearns  to  meet  a  star," 
the  monument  which  ' '  We  the  people  of  the  United  States ' ' 
have  erected  to  his  memory. 

It  is  a  fitting  monument,  more  fitting  than  any  statue. 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monnmcnt.  Si 
For  his  image  could  only  display  him  in  some  one  phase  d 
his  varied  character-as  the  Commander,  the  Statesman  the 
Planter  of  Mount  Vernon,  or  the  Chief  Magistrate  oJ  Ins 
country.    So  Art  has  fitly  typified  his  exalted  life  m  yon 
plain  lofty  shaft.    Such  is  his  greatness,  that  only  by  a  sym- 
bol could  it  be  represented.    As  Justice  must  be  blind  in 
order  to  be  whole  in  contemplation,  so  History  must  be 
silent,  that  by  this  mighty  sign  she  may  unfold  the  ampli- 
tude of  her  story. 

It  was  fitting  that  the  eminent  citizen  who  thirty-seven 
years  ago  spoke  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  should  lx 
L  orator  at  the  consummation  of  the  work  winch  he  in- 
fugCted.  It  was  Massachusetts  that  struck  the  first  blow 
^dependence;  it  was  her  voice  that  made  the  stones  o 
Boston  to  « rise  in  mutiny";  it  was  her  blessed  blood  that 
^ed l  the  covenant  of  our  salvation.    The  firmament  o  our 

Adams  of  Massachusetts,  was  among  the  first  to  urge  the 
of  Washington  to  the  0^.^^ 
commissioned  him  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Amen 
can  forces;  it  was  upon  her  soil  that  He  drew  he  word 
which  was  sheathed  at  Yorktown,  and  there  that  he  firs 

^  f,„„  its  birth,  the  ^-■'«»°f  t,'a,;,,"S  !Tt, 

span  the  eta.  with  hi,  bridge  of  gold,  and  u„ 


8  2         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

plished  mission  of  America  finds  fitting  illustration  in  the 
Sage  descended  from  the  Pilgrims  crowning  the  Hero  sprung 
from  the  Cavaliers. 

It  has  seemed  fitting  to  you,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentle- 
men of  the  Commission,  that  a  citizen  of  the  State  which 
was  the  birthplace  and  the  home  of  Washington — whose 
House  of  Burgesses,  of  which  he  was  a  member — made  the 
first  burst  of  opposition  against  the  Stamp  Act,  although  less 
pecuniarily  interested  therein  than  their  New  England 
brethren,  and  was  the  first  representative  body  to  recom- 
mend a  General  Congress  of  the  Colonies ;  of  the  State  whose 
Mason  drew  that  Bill  of  Rights  which  has  been  called  the 
Magna  Charta  of  America;  whose  Jefferson  wrote,  whose 
Richard  Henry  Lee  moved,  the  Declaration  that  these  Col- 
onies be  ' '  free  and  independent  States  ' ' ;  whose  Henry  con- 
densed the  revolution  into  the  electric  sentence,  ' '  Liberty 
or  Death;"  of  the  State  which  cemented  union  with  that  vast 
territorial  dowry  out  of  which  five  States  were  carved,  hav- 
ing now  here  some  ninety  representatives;  of  that  State 
whose  Madison  was  named  "the  Father  of  the  Constitu- 
tion," and  whose  Marshall  became  its  most  eminent  ex- 
pounder; of  the  State  which  holds  within  its  bosom  the 
sacred  ashes  of  Washington,  and  cherishes  not  less  the 
principles  which  once  kindled  them  with  fires  of  Heaven 
descended — it  has  seemed  fitting  to  you,  gentlemen,  that  a 
citizen  of  that  State  should  be  also  invited  to  deliver  an 
address  on  this  occasion. 

Would,  with  all  my  heart,  that  a  worthier  one  had  been 
your  choice.  Too  highly  do  I  esteem  the  position  in  which 
you  place  me  to  feel  aught  but  solemn  distrustfulness  and 
apprehension.    And  who  indeed  might  not  shrink  from 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument  83 

such  a  theater  when  a  Winthrop's  eloquence  still  thrilled 
all  hearts  with  Washington  the  theme? 

Yet,  in  Virginia's  name,  I  thank  you  for  the  honor  done 
her.  She  deserved  it.  Times  there  are  when  even  hardi- 
hood is  virtue;  and  to  such  virtue  alone  do  I  lay  claim  in 
venturing  to  abide  your  choice  to  be  her  spokesman. 

None  more  than  her  could  I  offend  did  I  take  opportunity 
to  give  her  undue  exaltation.  Her  foremost  son  does  not 
belong  to  her  alone,  nor  does  she  so  claim  him.  His  part 
and  her  part  in  the  Revolution  would  have  been  as  naught 
but  for  what  was  so  gloriously  done  by  his  brothers  in 
council  and  in  arms  and  by  her  sister  Colonies,  who  kept 
the  mutual  pledge  of  1 '  Life,  Fortune,  and  Sacred  Honor. ' ' 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connect- 
icut, New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  your 
comrade  of  the  old  heroic  days,  salutes  you  once  again  in 
honor  and  affection  ;  no  laurel  could  be  plucked  too  bright 
for  Virginia's  hand  to  lay  upon  your  brows.  And  ye,  our 
younger  companions,  who  have  sprung  forth  from  the  wil- 
derness, the  prairie,  and  the  mountain,  and  now  extend  your 
empire  to  the  far  slopes  where  your  teeming  cities  light  their 
lamps  by  the  setting  sun — what  grander  tribute  to  the  past, 
what  happier  assurance  of  the  present,  what  more  auspicious 
omens  of  the  future  could  Heaven  vouchsafe  us  than  those 
which  live  and  move  and  have  their  being  in  your  presence? 

What  heart  could  contemplate  the  scene  to-day — grander 
than  any  of  Old  Rome,  when  her  victor's  car  "climbed  the 
Capitol" — and  not  leap  into  the  exclamation,  "I,  too,  am 
an  American  citizen! ' ' 

Yet  may  I  not  remind  you  that  Washington  was  a  Vir- 


84         Deification  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

ginian  before  lie  became  an  American,  to  tell  his  country- 
men that  "the  name  of  American,  which  belongs  to  yon  in 
your  national  capacity,  must  always  exalt  the  just  pride  of 
patriotism  more  than  any  appellation  derived  from  local  dis- 
crimination? "  And  may  I  not  seek  the  fountain  from 
which  sprang  a. character  so  instinct  with  love  of  country? 

The  Puritans  of  England,  who  from  the  landing  at  Ply- 
mouth in  1620  to  the  uprising  against  Charles  I  in  1640, 
"turned  to  the  New  World,"  in  the  language  of  Canning, 
"to  redress  the  balance  of  the  Old,"  were  quickly  followed 
to  America  by  a  new  stream  of  immigration,  that  has  left  as 
marked  an  impress  upon  our  civilization  between  the  South 
Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi  as  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims 
have  made  between  the  North  Atlantic  and  the  Lakes. 

When  Charles  I  was  beheaded  in  1649,  and  when  his  son, 
the  Second  Charles,  was  beaten  at  Worcester  in  1651,  mul- 
titudes of  the  King's  men  turned  their  faces  also  to  the  new 
land  of  hope,  the  very  events  which  checked  the  immigration 
of  the  Puritans  to  New  England  giving  impulse  to  the  tide 
which  moved  the  Cavaliers  to  the  Old  Dominion.  Between 
1650  and  1670  the  Virginia  Colony  increased  from  fifteen 
thousand  to  forty  thousand  souls,  and  nearly  one-half  of  this 
number  thither  came  within  the  decade  after  the  execution 
of  the  King  and  the  establishment  of  Cromwell's  common- 
wealth on  the  ruins  of  his  throne. 

Intense  loyalists  were  these  new  Virginians,  who  "would 
defend  the  crown  if  it  hung  upon  a  bush ' ' ;  and  when  indeed 
its  substance  vanished  with  the  kingly  head  that  wore  it, 
these  "faithful  subjects  of  King  and  Church"  held  allegi- 
ance to  its  phantom  and  to  the  exiled  claimant.  But  they 
were  not  inattentive  to  their  liberties.    And  if  Virginia  was 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  85 

the  last  of  all  the  countries  belonging  to  England  to  submit 
to  Cromwell,  yet  she  was  also  uthe  first  state  in  the  world 
composed  of  separate  boroughs,  diffused  over  an  extensive 
surface,  where  representation  was  organized  on  the  principle 
of  universal  suffrage. ' '  And  in  the  very  terms  of  surrender 
to  the  commonwealth  it  was  stipulated  that  ' '  the  people  of 
Virginia"  should  have  all  the  liberties  of  the  free-born 
people  of  England;  should  intrust  their  business,  as  formerly, 
to  their  own  grand  Assembly;  and  should  remain  unques- 
tioned for  past  loyalty  to  the  King. 

As  in  New  England  the  Pilgrim  Colony  grew  apace,  so  in 
Virginia  prospered  that  of  the  Cavaliers.  With  that  love  of 
landed  estates  which  is  an  instinct  of  their  race,  they  planted 
their  homes  in  the  fertile  lowlands,  building  great  houses 
upon  broad  acres,  surrounded  by  ornamental  grounds  and 
gardens. 

Mimic  empires  were  these  large  estates,  and  a  certain 
baronial  air  pervaded  them.  Trade  with  Europe  loaded  the 
tables  of  their  proprietors  with  luxuries ;  rich  plate  adorned 
them.  Household  drudgeries  were  separated  from  the  main 
dwelling.  The  family  became  a  considerable  government 
within  itself — the  mistress  a  rural  queen,  the  master  a  local 
potentate,  with  his  graziers,  seedsmen,  gardeners,  brewers, 
butchers,  and  cooks  around  him.  Many  of  the  heads  of 
families  were  traveled  and  accomplished  men.  The  parishes 
were  ministered  to  by  the  learned  clergy  of  the  Established 
Church.  In  the  old  College  of  William  and  Mary  ere  long 
were  found  the  resources  of  classic  education,  and  in  the  old 
capital  town  of  Williamsburg  the  winter  season  shone  re- 
splendent with  the  entertainments  of  a  refined  society. 
Barges  imported  from  England  were  resources  of  amusement 


86         Dedicatio?i  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

and  means  of  friendly  visitations  along  the  water-courses, 
and  heavy  coaches,  drawn  by  four  or  six  horses,  became, 
their  mode  of  travel. 

1 1  Born  almost  to  the  saddle  and  to  the  use  of  firearms, 
they  were  keen  hunters,  and  when  the  chase  was  over  they 
sat  by  groaning  boards  and  drank  confusion  to  the  French- 
man and  Spaniard  abroad,  and  to  Roundhead  and  Prelatist 
at  home.  When  the  lurking  and  predatory  Indian  became 
the  object  of  pursuit,  no  speed  of  his  could  elude  their  fiery 
and  gallantly  mounted  cavalry. ' ' 

This  was  the  Virginia,  these  the  Virginians,  of  the  olden 
time.  If  even  in  retrospect  their  somewhat  aristocratic 
manners  touch  the  sensitive  nerve  of  a  democratic  people, 
it  may  at  least  be  said  of  them  that  nothing  like  despotism, 
nihilism,  or  dynamite  was  ever  found  amongst  them ;  that 
they  cherished  above  all  things  Honor  and  Courage,  the  vir- 
tues preservative  of  all  other  virtues,  and  that  they  nurtured 
men  and  leaders  of  men  well  fitted  to  cope  with  great  forces, 
resolve  great  problems,  and  assert  great  principles.  And  it 
is  at  least  true  that  their  habits  of  thought  and  living  never 
proved  more  dangerous  to  "life,  liberty,  or  the  pursuit  of 
happiness"  than  those  of  others  who  in  later  days  corrupt 
the  suffrage  in  the  rank  growth  of  cities;  build  up  palaces 
and  pile  up  millions  amid  crowded  paupers;  monopolize 
telegraphic  and  railway  lines  by  corporate  machinery; 
spurn  all  relations  to  politics,  save  to  debauch  its  agencies 
for  personal  gain;  and  know  no  Goddess  of  liberty  and  no 
Eagle  of  Country  save  in  the  images  which  satire  itself  has 
stamped  on  the  Almighty  Dollar. 

In  1657,  while  yet  "  a  Cromwell  filled  the  Stuarts'  throne, ' ' 
there  came  to  Virginia  with  a  party  of  Carlists  who  had 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  87 

rebelled  against  him  John  Washington,  of  Yorkshire,  Eng- 
land, who  became  a  magistrate  and  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  and  distinguished  himself  in  Indian  warfare 
as  the  first  colonel  of  his  family  on  this  side  of  the  water. 
He  was  the  nephew  of  that  Sir  Henry  Washington  who  had 
led  the  forlorn  hope  of  Prince  Rupert  at  Bristol  in  1643, 
and  who,  with  a  starving  and  mutinous  garrison,  had  de- 
fended Worcester  in  1649,  answering  all  calls  for  surrender 
that  he  "awaited  His  Majesty's  commands." 

And  his  progenitors  had  for  centuries,  running  back  to 
the  conquest,  been  men  of  mark  and  fair  renown.  Pride 
and  modesty  of  individuality  alike  forbid  the  seeking  from 
any  source  of  a  borrowed  luster,  and  the  Washingtons  were 
never  studious  or  pretentious  of  ancestral  dignities.  But 
' '  we  are  quotations  from  our  ancestors, ' '  says  the  philoso- 
pher of  Concord — and  who  will  say  that  in  the  loyalty  to 
conscience  and  to  principle,  and  to  the  right  of  self-determi- 
nation of  what  is  principle,  that  the  Washingtons  have  ever 
shown,  whether  as  loyalist  or  rebel,  was  not  the  germ  of 
that  deathless  devotion  to  Liberty  and  Country  which  soon 
discarded  all  ancient  forms  in  the  mighty  stroke  for  inde- 
pendence ? 

Two  traits  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  have  been  equally  con- 
spicuous— respect  for  authority — resistance  to  its  abuse.  Ex- 
acting service  from  the  one,  even  the  Second  Charles  learned 
somewhat  from  the  other.  When  pressed  by  James  to  an 
extreme  measure,  he  answered:  "Brother,  I  am  too  old  to 
start  again  on  my  travels."  James,  becoming  King,  forgot 
the  hint,  was  soon  on  his  travels,  with  the  Revolution  of  1688 
in  full  blast,  and  William  of  Orange  upon  his  throne.  The 
Barons  of  Rnnnymede  had,  indeed,  written  in  the  Great 


88         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

Charter  that  if  the  King  violated  any  article  thereof  they 
should  have  the  right  to  levy  war  against  him  until  *  full 
satisfaction  was  made.  And  we  know  not  which  is  most 
admirable,  the  wit  or  the  wisdom  of  the  English  lawyer, 
John  Selden,  who,  when  asked  by  what  law  he  justified  the 
right  of  resistance,  answered,  ' '  By  the  custom  of  England, 
which  is  part  of  the  common  law. ' '  Mountains  and  vales 
are  natural  correspondences. 

A  very  Tempe  had  Virginia  been,  sheltering  the  loyal 
Cavaliers  in  their  reverence  for  authority.  The  higher  and 
manlier  trait  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  was  about  to  receive  more 
memorable  illustration,  and  she  uprose,  Olympus-like,  in 
her  resistance  to  its  abuse. 

And  the  Instrument  of  Providence  to  lead  her  people  and 
their  brethren,  had  he  lived  in  the  days  when  mythic  lore 
invested  human  heroes  with  a  God-like  grace,  would  have 
been  shrouded  in  the  glory  of  Olympian  Jove. 

One  hundred  and  fifty-three  years  ago,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac,  in  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  on  a  spot  marked 
now  only  by  a  memorial  stone,  of  the  blood  of  the  people 
whom  I  have  faintly  described,  fourth  in  descent  from 
the  Col.  John  WashingtoiKwhom  I  have  named,  there  was 
born  a  sou  to  Augustine  and  Mary  Washington.  And  not 
many  miles  above  his  birthplace  is  the  dwelling  where  he 
lived  and  now  lies  buried. 

Borne  upon  the  bosom  of  that  river  which  here  mirrors 
Capitol  dome,  and  monumental  shaft  in  its  seaward  flow, 
the  river  itself  seems  to  reverse  its  current  and  bear  us 
silently  into  the  past.  Scarce  has  the  vista  of  the  city  faded 
from  our  gaze  when  we  behold  on  the  woodland  height  that 
swells  above  the  waters — amidst  walks  and  groves  and  gar- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  89 

dens — the  white  porch  of  that  old  colonial  plantation  home 
which  has  become  the  shrine  of  many  a  pilgrimage. 

Contrasting  it  as  there  it  stands  to-day  with  the  marble 
halls  which  we  have  left  behind  us,  we  realize  the  truth  of 
Kmerson:  "The  atmosphere  of  moral  sentiment  is  a  region 
of  grandeur  which  reduces  all  material  magnificence  to  toys, 
yet  opens  to  every  wretch  that  has  reason  the  doors  of  the 
Universe. ' ' 

The  quaint  old  wooden  mansion,  with  the  stately  but 
simple  old-fashioned  mahogany  furniture,  real  and  untar- 
nished; the  swords  and  relics  of  campaigns  and  scenes 
familiar  to  every  school-boy  now;  the  key  of  the  Bastile 
hanging  in  the  hall  incased  in  glass,  calling  to  mind  Tom 
Paine' s  happy  expression,  "That  the  principles  of  the 
American  Revolution  opened  the  Bastile  is  not  to  be 
doubted,  therefore  the  key  comes  to  the  right  place;1'  the 
black  velvet  coat  worn  when  the  farewell  address  to  the 
Army  was  made;  the  rooms  all  in  nicety  of  preparation  as 
if  expectant  of  the  coming  host — we  move  among  these 
memorials  of  days  and  men  long  vanished— we  stand  under 
the  great  trees  and  watch  the  solemn  river,  in  its  never- 
ceasing  flow,  we  gaze  upon  the  simple  tomb  whose  silence 
is  unbroken  save  by  the  low  murmur  of  the  waters  or  tl it- 
wild  bird's  note — and  we  are  enveloped  in  an  atmosphere  of 
moral  grandeur  which  no  pageantry  of  moving  men  nor 
splendid  pile  can  generate.  -Nightly  on  the  plain  of  Mar- 
athon the  Greeks  have  the  tradition,  that  there  may  yet  be 
heard  the  neighing  of  chargers  and  the  rushing  shadows  oi 
spectral  war.  In  the  spell  that  broods  over  the  sacred 
groves  of  Vernon,  Patriotism,  Honor,  Coinage,  justice, 
Virtue,  Truth— seem  bodied  forth— the  only  imperishable 
realities  of  man's  being. 


90         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

There  emerges  from  the  shades  the  figure  of  a  youth  over 
whose  cradle  had  hovered  no  star  of  destiny,  nor  dandled  a 
royal  crown — an  ingenuous  youth,  and  one  who  in  his  early 
days  gave  auguries  of  great  powers;  the  boy  whose  strong 
arm  could  fling  a  stone  across  the  Rappahannock;  whose 
strong  will  could  tame  the  most  fiery  horse;  whose  just 
spirit  made  him  the  umpire  of  his  fellows;  whose  obedient 
heart  bowed  to  a  mother's  yearning  for  her  son  and  laid 
down  the  Midshipman's  warrant  in  the  British  Navy  which 
answered  his  first  ambitious  dream;  the  student  transcrib- 
ing mathematical  problems,  accounts,  and  business  forms, 
or  listening  to  the  soldiers  and  seamen  of  vessels  in  the  river 
as  they  tell  of  "hair  breadth  'scapes  by  flood  and  field "  ;  the 
early  moralist  in  his  thirteenth  year  compiling  matured 
1 '  Rules  for  behavior  and  conversation ' ' ;  the  surveyor  of 
sixteen,  exploring  the  wilderness  for  Ivord  Fairfax,  sleeping 
on  the  ground,  climbing  mountains,  swimming  rivers,  kill- 
ing and  cooking  his  own  game,  noting  in  his  diary  soils, 
minerals,  and  locations,  and  making  maps  which  are  models 
of  nice  and  accurate  draughtsmanship;  the  incipient  soldier 
studying  tactics  under  Adjutant  Muse,  and  taking  lessons 
in  broadsword  fence  from  the  old  soldier  of  fortune,  Jacob 
Van  Braam;  the  Major  and  Adjutant-General  of  the  Virginia 
frontier  forces  at  nineteen — we  seem  to  see  him  yet  as  here 
he  stood,  a  model  of  manly  beauty  in  his  youthful  prime — a 
man  in  all  that  makes  a  man  ere  manhood's  years  have  been 
fulfilled — standing  on  the  threshold  of  a  grand  career,  ' '  hear- 
ing his  days  before  him  and  the  trumpet  of  his  life. ' ' 

The  scene  changes.  Out  into  the  world  of  stern  adven- 
ture he  passes,  taking  as  naturally  to  the  field  and  the  front- 
ier as  the  eagle  to  the  air.    At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  is 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument  91 

riding  from  Williamsburg  to  the  French  post  at  Venango, 
in  western  Pennsylvania,  on  a  mission  for  Governor  Din- 
widdle, which  requires  "courage  to  cope  with  savages  and 
sagacity  to  negotiate  with  white  men" — on  that  mission 
which  Edward  Everett  recognizes  as  "the  first  movement 
of  a  military  nature  which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of 
American  Independence."    At  twenty-two  he  has  fleshed 
his  maiden  sword,  has  heard  the  bullets  whistle,  and  found 
' '  something  charming  in  the  sound ' ' ;  and  soon  he  is  colonel 
of  the  Virginia  regiment  in  the  unfortunate  affair  at  Fort 
Necessity,  and  is  compelled  to  retreat  after  losing  a  sixth  of 
his  command.    He  quits  the  service  on  a  point  of  military 
etiquette  and  honor,  but  at  twenty-three  he  reappears  as 
Volunteer  Aide  by  the  side  of  Braddock  in  the  ill-starred  ex- 
pedition against  Fort  DuQuesne,  and  is  the  only  mounter] 
officer  unscathed  in  the  disaster,  escaping  with  four  bullets 
through  his  garments,  and  after  having  two  horses  shot  un- 
der him. 

The  prophetic  eye  of  Samuel  Davies  has  now  pointed  him 
out  as  "that  heroic  youth,  Colonel  Washington,  whom  I 
can  but  hope  Providence  has  hitherto  preserved  in  so  signal 
a  manner  for  some  important  service  to  his  country";  and 
soon  the  prophecy  is  fulfilled.  The  same  year  he  is  in  com- 
mand of  the  Virginia  frontier  forces.  Arduous  conflicts  of 
varied  fortunes  are  ere  long  ended,  and  on  the  25th  of  No- 
vember, 1759,  he  marches  into  the  reduced  fortress  of  Fort 
DuQuesne— where  Pittsburgh  now  stands,  and  the  Titans  of 
Industry  wage  the  eternal  war  of  Toil— marches  in  with  the 
advanced  guard  of  his  troops,  and  plants  the  British  flag 
over  its  smoking  ruins. 

That  self-same  year  Wolfe,  another  young  and  brilliant 


92         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

soldier  of  Britain,  has  scaled  and  triumphed  on  the  Heights 
of  Abraham — his  flame  of  valor  quenched  as  it  lit  the  blaze 
of  victory ;  Canada  surrenders ;  the  seven  years'  war  is  done ; 
the  French  power  in  America  is  broken,  and  the  vast  region 
west  of  the  Alleghanies,  from  the  lakes  to  the  Ohio,  em- 
bracing its  valley  and  tributary  streams,  is  under  the  scepter 
of  King  George.  America  has  been  made  whole  to  the  Eng- 
lish-speaking race,  to  become  in  time  the  greater  Britain. 

Thus,  building  wiser  than  he  knew,  Washington  had  taken 
no  small  part  in  cherishing  the  seed  of  a  nascent  nation. 

Mount  Vernon  welcomes  back  the  soldier  of  twenty-seven, 
who  has  become  a  name.  Domestic  felicity  spreads  its 
charms  around  him  with  the  "  agreeable  partner  "  whom  he 
has  taken  to  his  bosom,  and  he  dreams  of  "more  happiness 
than  he  has  experienced  in  the  wide  and  bustling  world." 

Already,  ere  his  sword  had  found  its  scabbard,  the  people 
of  Frederick  county  had  made  him  their  member  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses.  And  the  quiet  years  roll  by  as  the 
planter,  merchant,  and  representative  superintends  his 
plantation,  ships  his  crops,  posts  his  books,  keeps  his  diary, 
chases  the  fox  for  amusement,  or  rides  over  to  Annapolis 
and  leads  the  dance  at  the  Maryland  capital — alternating 
between  these  private  pursuits  and  serving  his  people  as 
member  of  the  Legislature  and  justice  of  the  county  court. 

But  ere  long  this  happy  life  is  broken.  The  air  is  electric 
with  the  currents  of  revolution.  England  has  launched  forth 
on  the  fatal  policy  of  taxing  her  colonies  without  their  con- 
sent. The  spirit  of  liberty  and  resistance  is  aroused.  He 
is  loath  to  part  with  the  Mother  Land,  which  he  still  calls 
"home."  But  she  turns  a  deaf  ear  to  reason.  The  first 
Colonial  Congress  is  called.    He  is  a  delegate,  and  rides  to 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument  93 

Philadelphia  with  Henry  and  Pendleton.  The  blow  at  L,ex 
ington  is  struck.  The  people  rush  to  arms.  The  sons  of 
the  Cavaliers  spring  to  the  side  of  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims. 
"Unhappy  it  is,"  he  says,  "that  a  brother's  sword  has  been 
sheathed  in  a  brother's  breast,  and  that  the  once  happy  plains 
of  America  are  to  be  either  drenched  in  blood  or  inhabited 
by  slaves.  Sad  alternative!  But  how  can  a  virtuous  man 
hesitate  in  his  choice?"  He  becomes  commander-in-chief 
of  the  American  forces.  After  seven  years'  war  he  is  the 
deliverer  of  his  country.  The  old  confederation  passes  away. 
The  Constitution  is  established.  He  is  twice  chosen  Presi- 
dent, and  will  not  consent  to  longer  serve. 

Once  again  Mount  Vernon's  grateful  shades  receive  him, 
and  there — the  world-crowned  Hero  now — becomes  again 
the  simple  citizen,  wishing  for  his  fellow-men  "to  see  the 
whole  world  in  peace  and  its  inhabitants  one  band  of 
brothers,  striving  who  could  contribute  most  to  the  happi- 
ness of  mankind  " — without  a  wish  for  himself,  but  ' 1  to  live 
and  die  an  honest  man  on  his  farm. ' '  A  speck  of  war  spots 
the  sky.  John  Adams,  now  President,  calls  him  forth  as 
Lieutenant-General  and  Commander-in-Chief  to  lead  Amer- 
ica once  more.  But  the  cloud  vanishes.  Peace  reigns. 
The  lark  sings  at  Heaven's  gate  in  the  fair  morn  of  the  new 
nation.  Serene,  contented,  yet  in  the  strength  of  manhood, 
though  on  the  verge  of  three-score  years  and  ten,  he  looks 
forth— the  quiet  farmer  from  his  pleasant  fields,  the  loving 
patriarch  from  the  bowers  of  home— looks  forth  and  sees 
the  work  of  his  hands  established  in  a  free  and  happy  peo- 
ple. Suddenly  comes  the  mortal  stroke  with  severe  cold. 
The  agony  is  soon  over.  He  feels  his  own  dying  pulse— the 
hand  relaxes— he  murmurs,  "It  is  well;"  and  Washington 


94         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

is  no  more.  While  yet  Time  had  crumbled  never  a  stone 
nor  dimmed  the  lustrous  surface,  prone  to  earth  the  mighty 
column  fell. 

Washington,  the  friend  of  Liberty,  is  no  more! 

The  solemn  cry  filled  the  universe.  Amidst  the  tears  of 
his  People,  the  bowed  heads  of  kings,  and  the  lamentations 
of  the  nations,  they  laid  him  there  to  rest  upon  the  banks 
of  the  river  whose  murmurs  were  his  boyhood's  music — 
that  river  which,  rising  in  mountain  fastnesses  amongst  the 
grandest  works  of  nature  and  reflecting  in  its  course  the 
proudest  works  of  man,  is  a  symbol  of  his  history,  which 
in  its  ceaseless  and  ever-widening  flow  is  a  symbol  of  his 
eternal  fame. 

No  sum  could  now  be  made  of  Washington's  character 
that  did  not  exhaust  language  of  its  tributes  and  repeat 
virtue  by  all  her  names.  No  sum  could  be  made  of  his 
achievements  that  did  not  unfold  the  history  of  his  country 
and  its  institutions — the  history  of  his  age  and  its  progress — 
the  history  of  man  and  his  destiny  to  be  free.  But,  whether 
character  or  achievement  be  regarded,  the  riches  before  us 
only  expose  the  poverty  of  praise.  So  clear  was  he  in  his 
great  office  that  no  ideal  of  the  Leader  or  Ruler  can  be  formed 
that  does  not  shrink  by  the  side  of  the  reality.  And  so  has 
he  impressed  himself  upon  the  minds  of  men,  that  no  man 
can  justly  aspire  to  be  the  chief  of  a  great  free  people  who 
does  not  adopt  his  principles  and  emulate  his  example.  We 
look  with  amazement  on  such  eccentric  characters  as  Alex- 
ander, Caesar,  Cromwell,  Frederick,  and  Napoleon;  but 
when  the  serene  face  of  Washington  rises  before  us  man- 
kind instinctively  exclaims, ' '  This  is  the  Man  for  the  Nations 
to  trust  and  reverence  and  for  heroes  and  rulers  to  copy. ' ' 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  95 

Drawing  his  sword  from  patriotic  impulse,  without  ambi- 
tion and  without  malice,  he  wielded  it  without  vindictive- 
ness  and  sheathed  it  without  reproach.  All  that  humanity 
could  conceive  he  did  to  suppress  the  cruelties  of  war  and 
soothe  its  sorrows.  He  never  struck  a  coward's  blow.  To 
him  age,  infancy,  and  helplessness  were  ever  sacred.  Ib- 
tolerated  no  extremity  unless  to  curb  the  excesses  of  bis 
enemy,  and  he  never  poisoned  the  sting  of  defeat  by  the 
exultation  of  the  conqueror. 

Peace  he  welcomed  as  the  Heaven-sent  herald  of  Friendship ; 
and  no  country  has  given  him  greater  honor  than  that  which 
he  defeated;  for  England  has  been  glad  to  claim  him  as  the 
scion  of  her  blood,  and  proud,  like  our  sister  American 
States,  to  divide  with  Virginia  the  honor  of  producing  him. 

Fascinated  by  the  perfection  of  the  man,  we  are  loath  to 
break  the  mirror  of  admiration  into  the  fragments  of  analy- 
sis But,  lo!  as  we  attempt  it,  every  fragment  becomes  the 
miniature  of  such  sublimity  and  beauty,  that  the  destroying 
hand  can  only  multiply  the  forms  of  immortality. 

Grand  and  manifold  as  were  its  phases,  there  is  yet  no  dif- 
ficulty in  understanding  the  character  of  Washington.  He 
was  no  Veiled  Prophet.    He  never  acted  a  part.  Simple 
natural,  and  unaffected,  his  life  lies  before  us,  a  fair  and 
open  manuscript.    He  disdained  the  arts  which  wrap  power 
in  mystery  in  order  to  magnify  it.    He  practiced  the  pro- 
found diplomacy  of  truthful  speech,  the  consummate  tact 
of  direct  attention.    Looking  ever  to  the  All-Wise  Disposer 
of  events,  he  relied  on  that  Providence  which  helps  men  by 
giving  them  high  hearts  and  hopes  to  help  themselves  with 
L  means  which  their  Creator  has  put  at  their  service. 
There  was  no  infirmity  in  his  conduct  over  which  Chanty 


g6         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

must  fling  its  veil ;  no  taint  of  selfishness  from  which  Purity 
averts  her  gaze ;  no  dark  recess  of  intrigue  that  must  be  lit 
up  with  colored  panegyric;  no  subterranean  passage  to  be 
trod  in  trembling  lest  there  be  stirred  the  ghost  of  a  buried 
crime. 

A  true  son  of  nature  was  George  Washington,  of  nature 
in  her  brightest  intelligence  and  noblest  mold;  and  diffi- 
culty, if  such  there  be  in  comprehending  him,  is  only  that 
of  reviewing  from  a  single  standpoint  the  vast  procession  of 
those  civil  and  military  achievements  which  filled  nearly 
half-a-century  of  his  life,  and  in  realizing  the  magnitude  of 
those  qualities  which  were  requisite  to  their  performance — 
the  difficulty  of  fashioning  in  our  minds  a  pedestal  broad 
enough  to  bear  the  towering  figure,  whose  greatness  is  di- 
minished by  nothing  but  the  perfection  of  its  proportions. 
If  his  exterior — in  calm,  grave,  and  resolute  repose — ever 
impressed  the  casual  observer  as  austere  and  cold,  it  was 
only  because  he  did  not  reflect  that  no  great  heart  like  his 
could  have  lived  unbroken  unless  bound  by  iron  nerves  in 
an  iron  frame.  The  Commander  of  Armies,  the  Chief  of  a 
People,  the  Hope  of  Nations  could  not  wear  his  heart  upon 
his  sleeve;  and  yet  his  sternest  will  could  not  conceal  its 
high  and  warm  pulsations.  Under  the  enemy's  guns  at 
Boston  he  did  not  forget  to  instruct  his  agent  to  administer 
generously  of  charity  to  his  needy  neighbors  at  home.  The 
sufferings  of  women  and  children,  thrown  adrift  by  war,  and 
of  his  bleeding  comrades,  pierced  his  soul.  And  the  moist 
eye  and  trembling  voice  with  which  he  bade  farewell  to  his 
veterans  bespoke  the  underlying  tenderness  of  his  nature, 
even  as  the  storm-wind  makes  music  in  its  under-tones. 

Disinterested  Patriot,  he  would  receive  no  pay  for  his  mil- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  97 

itary  services.  Refusing  gifts,  he  was  glad  to  guide  the 
benefaction  of  a  grateful  State  to  educate  the  children  of 
his  fallen  braves  in  the  institution  at  Lexington  which  yel 
bears  his  name.  Without  any  of  the  blemishes  thai  mark 
the  tyrant,  he  appealed  so  loftily  to  the  virtuous  elements  in 
man  that  he  almost  created  the  qualities  of  which  his  coun- 
try needed  the  exercise;  and  yet  he  was  so  magnanimous 
and  forbearing  to  the  weaknesses  of  others,  that  he  often 
obliterated  the  vices  of  which  he  feared  the  consequence. 
But  his  virtue  was  more  than  this.  It  was  of  that  darine\ 
intrepid  kind  that,  seizing  principle  with  a  giant's  grasp, 
assumes  responsibility  at  any  hazard,  suffers  sacrifice  with- 
out pretense  of  martyrdom,  bears  calumny  without  reply, 
imposes  superior  will  and  understanding  011  all  around  it, 
capitulates  to  no  unworthy  triumph,  but  must  carry  all 
things  at  the  point  of  clear  and  blameless  conscience. 
Scorning  all  manner  of  meanness  and  cowardice,  his  bursts 
of  wrath  at  their  exhibition  heighten  our  admiration  for 
those  noble  passions  which  were  kindled  by  the  inspirations 
and  exigencies  of  virtue. 

Invested  with  the  powers  of  a  Dictator,  the  country  be- 
stowing them  felt  no  distrust  of  his  integrity;  he,  receiving 
them,  gave  assurance  that,  as  the  sword  was  the  last  resort 
of  liberty,  so  it  should  be  the  first  thing  laid  aside  when 
Iyiberty  was  won.  And  keeping  the  faith  in  all  things,  he 
left  mankind  bewildered  with  the  splendid  problem  whether 
to  admire  him  most  for  what  he  was  or  what  he  would  not 
be.  Over  and  above  all  his  virtues  was  the  matchless  man- 
hood of  personal  honor,  to  which  Confidence  gave  in  safety 
the  key  of  every  treasure ;  on  which  Temptation  dared  not 
smile  ;  on  which  Suspicion  never  cast  a  frown.  And  why 
7  w  M 


98         Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

prolong  the  catalogue?  "If  you  are  presented  with  medals 
of  Caesar,  of  Trojan,  or  Alexander,  on  examining  their 
features  you  are  still  led  to  ask,  what  was  their  stature  and 
the  forms  of  their  persons?  but  if  you  discover  in  a  heap  of 
ruins  the  head  or  the  limb  of  an  antique  Apollo,  be  not 
curious  about  the  other  parts,  but  rest  assured  they  were  all 
conformable  to  those  of  a  God. ' ' 

Great  as  a  Commander,  it  may  not  be  said  of  him  as  of 
Marlborough,  that  ' '  he  never  formed  the  plan  of  a  campaign 
that  he  did  not  execute;  never  besieged  a  city  that  he  did 
not  take;  never  fought  a  battle  that  he  did  not  gain."  But 
it  can  be  said  of  him  that,  at  the  head  of  raw  volunteers, 
hungry  to  the  edge  of  famine,  ragged  almost  to  nakedness, 
whose  muniments  of  war  were  a  burlesque  of  its  necessities, 
he  defeated  the  trained  bands  and  veteran  generals  of  Europe ; 
and  that,  when  he  had  already  earned  the  name  of  the  Ameri- 
can Fabius,  destined  to  save  a  nation  by  delay,  he  suddenly 
displayed  the  daring  of  a  Marcellus.  It  may  be  said  that  he 
was  the  first  general  to  employ  large  bodies  of  light  infantry 
as  skirmishers,  catching  the  idea  from  his  Indian  warfare, 
and  so  developing  it  that  it  was  copied  by  the  Great  Frede- 
rick of  Prussia,  and  ere  long  perfected  into  the  system  now 
almost  universal.  It  can  be  said  of  him,  as  testified  by  John 
Adams,  that  "it  required  more  serenity  of  temper,  a  deeper 
understanding,  and  more  courage  than  fell  to  the  lot  of  Marl- 
borough, to  ride  on  the  whirlwind"  of  such  tempetuous 
times  as  Washington  dealt  with,  and  that  he  did  ' '  ride  on 
the  whirlwind  and  direct  the  storm. ' '  It  can  be  said  that  he 
was  tried  in  a  crucible  to  which  Marlborough  was  never 
subjected— adversity,  defeat,  depression  of  fortune  bordering 
on  despair.    The  first  battle  of  his  youth  ended  in  capitula- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  99 

lation.  The. first  general  engagement  of  the  revolution  at 
Long  Island  opened  a  succession  of  disasters  and  retreats. 
But  with  the  energy  that  remolds  broken  opportunities  into 
greater  ones,  with  the  firmness  of  mind  that  can  not  be  un- 
locked by  trifles  but  which  when  unlocked  displays  a  cabi- 
net of  fortitude,  he  wrenched  victory  from  stubborn  fortune, 
compelling  the  reluctant  oracle  to  exclaim  as  to  Alexander, 
uMy  son,  thou  art  invincible."  So  did  he  weave  the  net 
of  war  by  land  and  sea,  that  at  the  very  moment  when  an 
elated  adversary  was  about  to  strike  the  final  blow  for  his 
country's  fall,  he  surrounded  him  by  swift  and  far-reaching 
combinations,  and  twined  the  lilies  of  France  with  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  of  America  over  the  ramparts  of  York- 
town.  And  if  success  be  made  the  test  of  merit,  let  it  be 
remembered  that  he  conducted  the  greatest  military  and 
civil  enterprises  of  his  age,  and  left  no  room  for  fancy  to 
divine  greater  perfection  of  accomplishment. 

Great  in  action  as  by  the  council  board,  the  finest  horse- 
man and  knightliest  figure  of  his  time,  he  seemed  designed 
by  nature  to  lead  in  those  bold  strokes  which  needs  must 
come  when  the  battle  lies  with  a  single  man — those  critical 
moments  of  the  campaign  or  the  strife  when,  if  the  mind 
hesitates  or  a  nerve  flinches,  all  is  lost.  We  can  never  for- 
get the  passage  of  the  Delaware  that  black  December  night, 
amidst  shrieking  winds  and  great  upheaving  blocks  of  ice 
which  would  have  petrified  a  leader  of  less  hardy  mold,  and 
then  the  fell  swoop  at  Trenton.  We  behold  him  as  when  at 
Monmouth  he  turns  back  the  retreating  lines,  and  galloping 
his  white  charger  along  the  ranks  until  he  falls,  leaps  on  his 
Arabian  bay,  and  shouts  to  his  men:  "Stand  fast,  my  boys, 
the  Southern  troops  are  coming  to  support  you!"    And  we 


ioo       Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

hear  Lafayette  exclaim,  ' '  Never  did  I  behold  so  superb  a 
man!"  We  see  him  again  at  Princeton  dashing  through  a 
storm  of  shot  to  rally  the  wavering  troops ;  he  reins  his  horse 
between  the  contending  lines,  and  cries:  "Will  you  leave 
your  general  to  the  foe?"  then  bolts  into  the  thickest  fray. 
Colonel  Fitzgerald,  his  aid,  drops  his  reins  and  pulls  his  hat 
down  over  his  eyes  that  he  may  not  see  his  chieftain  fall, 
when,  through  the  smoke  he  reappears  waving  his  hat, 
cheering  on  his  men,  and  shouting:  "Away,  dear  Colonel, 
and  bring  up  the  troops ;  the  day  is  ours. ' '  ( 'Cceur  de  Lion ' ' 
might  have  doffed  his  plume  to  such  a  chief — foi  a  great 
knight  was  he,  who  met  his  foes  full  tilt  in  the  shock  of 
battle  and  hurled  them  down  with  an  arm  whose  sword 
flamed  with  righteous  indignation. 

As  children  pore  over  the  pictures  in  their  books  ere  they 
can  read  the  words  annexed  to  them  so  we  linger  with  ting- 
ling blood  by  such  inspiring  scenes,  while  little  do  we  reck 
of  those  daik  hours  when  the  aching  head  pondered  the 
problems  of  a  country's  fate.  And  yet  there  is  a  greater 
theater  in  which  Washington  appears,  although  not  so  often 
has  its  curtain  been  uplifted. 

For  it  was' as  a  statesman  that  Washington  was  greatest. 
Not  in  the  sense  that  Hamilton  and  Jefferson,  Adams  and 
Madison  were  statesmen ;  but  in  a  larger  sense.  Men  may 
marshal  armies  who  can  not  drill  divisions.  Men  may  mar- 
shal nations  in  storm  and  travail  who  have  not  the  accom- 
plishments of  their  cabinet  ministers.  Not  so  versed  as  they 
was  he  in  the  details  of  political  science.  And  yet  as  he 
studied  tactics  when  he  anticipated  war,  so  he  studied  poli- 
tics when  he  foresaw  his  civil  role  approaching,  reading  the 
history  and  examining  the  principles  of  ancient  and  modern 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  Natiotial  Monument.  101 

confederacies,  and  making  notes  of  their  virtues,  defects, 
and  methods  of  operation. 

His  pen  did  not  possess  the  facile  play  and  classic  grace  of 
their  pens,  but  his  vigorous  eloquence  had  the  clear  ring  of 
our  mother  tongue.  I  will  not  say  that  he -was  so  astute,  so 
quick,  so  inventive  as  the  one  or  another  of  them — that  his 
mind  was  characterized  by  the  vivacity  of  wit,  the  rich  col- 
orings of  fancy,  or  daring  flights  of  imagination.  But  with 
him  thought  and  action  like  well-trained  coursers  kept 
abreast  in  the  chariot  race,  guided  by  an  eye  that  never 
quailed,  reined  by  a  hand  that  never  trembled.  He  had  a 
more  infallible  discrimination  of  circumstances  and  men 
than  any  of  his  contemporaries.  He  weighed  facts  in  a 
juster  scale,  with  larger  equity,  and  firmer  equanimity. 
He  best  applied  to  them  the  lessons  of  experience.  With 
greater  ascendency  of  character  he  held  men  to  their  ap- 
pointed tasks;  with  more  inspiring  virtue  he  commanded 
more  implicit  confidence.  He  bore  a  truer  divining-rod, 
and  through  a  wilderness  of  contention  he  alone  was  the 
unerring  Pathfinder  of  the  People. 

There  can,  indeed,  be  no  right  conception  of  Washington 
that  does  not  accord  him  a  great  and  extraordinary  genius. 
I  will  not  say  he  could  have  produced  a  play  of  Shakes- 
peare or  a  poem  of  Milton,  handled  with  Kant  the  tangled 
skein  of  metaphyics,  probed  the  secrecies  of  mind  and  mat- 
ter with  Bacon,  constructed  a  railroad  or  an  engine  like 
Stephenson,  wooed  the  electric  spark  from  Heaven  to  earth 
with  Franklin,  or  walked  with  Newton  the  pathways  of  the 
spheres.  But  if  his  genius  were  of  a  different  order,  it  was 
of  as  rare  and  high  an  order.  It  dealt  with  man  in  the  con- 
crete— with  his  vast  concerns  of  business  stretching  over  a 


to2       Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

continent  and  projected  into  the  ages — with  his  seething 
passions;  with  his  marvellous  exertions  of  mind,  body,  and 
spirit  to  be  free.  He  knew  the  materials  he  dealt  with  by 
intuitive  perception  of  the  heart  of  man — by  experience  and 
observation  of  his  aspirations  and  his  powers — by  reflection 
upon  his  complex  relations,  rights,  and  duties  as  a  social 
being.  He  knew  just  where,  between  men  and  States,  to 
erect  the  monumental  mark  to  divide  just  reverence  for 
authority  from  just  resistance  to  its  abuse.  A  poet  of  social 
facts,  he  interpreted  by  his  deeds  the  harmonies  of  justice. 

Practical  yet  exalted,  not  stumbling  in  the  pit  as  he  gazed 
upon  the  stars,  he  would  "put  no  man  in  any  office  of  con- 
sequence whose  political  tenets  were  opposed  to  the  meas- 
ures which  the  General  Government  were  pursuing. ' '  Yet 
he  himself,  by  the  Kingliness  of  his  nature,  could  act  inde- 
pendently of  party,  return  the  confidence  and  affections, 
use  the  brains  and  have  thrust  upon  him  the  unanimous 
suffrage  of  all  parties — walking  the  dizzy  heights  of  power 
in  the  perfect  balance  of  every  faculty,  and  surviving  in 
that  rarefied  atmosphere  which  lesser  frames  could  only 
breathe  to  perish. 

Brilliant  I  will  not  call  him,  if  the  brightness  of  the  rip- 
pling river  exceed  the  solemn  glory  of  old  Ocean.  Brilliant 
I  will  not  call  him,  if  darkness  must  be  visible  in  order  to 
display  the  light;  for  he  had  none  of  that  rocket-like  brill- 
iancy which  flames  in  instant  corruscation  across  the  black 
brow  of  night — and  then  is  not.  But  if  a  steady,  unflicker- 
ing  flame,  slow  rising  to  its  lofty  sphere,  high  hung  in  the 
Heavens  of  Contemplation,  dispensing  far  and  wide  its  rays, 
revealing  all  things  on  which  it  shines  in  due  proportions 
and  large  relations,  making  Right,  Duty,  and  Destiny  so  plain 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  103 

that  in  the  vision  we  are  scarce  conscious  of  the  light — if 
this  be  brilliancy — then  the  genius  of  Washington  was  as 
full-orbed  and  luminous  as  the  god  of  day  in  his  zenith. 

This  is  genius  in  rarest  manifestation  ;  and,  as  life  is 
greater  than  any  theory  of  living,  in  so  much  does  he  who 
points  the  path  of  Destiny  and  brings  great  things  to  pass, 
exceed  the  mere  dreamer  of  great  dreams. 

The  work  of  Washington  filled  the  rounded  measure  of 
his  splendid  faculties.  Grandly  did  he  illustrate  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  trait  of  just  resistance  to  the  abuse  of  power — stand- 
ing in  front  of  his  soldier-husbandmen  on  the  fields  of 
Boston,  and  telling  the  general  of  earth's  greatest  Em- 
pire, who  stigmatized  them  as  u rebels"  and  threatened 
them  ' '  with  the  punishment  of  the  cord, ' '  that  ' '  he  could 
conceive  of  no  rank  more  honorable  than  that  which  flows 
from  the  uncorrupted  choice  of  a  brave  and  free  People, 
the  original  and  purest  fountain  of  all  power,'1  and  that, 
' '  far  from  making  it  a  plea  for  cruelty,  a  mind  of  true  mag- 
nanimity and  enlarged  ideas  would  comprehend  and  respect 
it."  Victoriously  did  he  vindicate  the  principle  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  that  to  secure  the  inalienable 
rights  of  man  "governments  are  instituted  amongst  men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed, 
and  that  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes  de- 
structive of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  People  to  alter 
or  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  new  government,  laying  its 
foundation  on  such  principles,  and  organizing  its  power  in 
such  forms,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their 
safety  and  happiness. ' '  By  these  signs  he  conquered.  And 
had  his  career  ended  here  none  other  would  have  surpassed — 
whose  could  have  equaled  it?    But  where  the  fame  of  so 


io4       Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

many  successful  warriors  has  found  conclusion,  or  gone  be- 
yond only  to  be  tarnished,  his  took  new  flight  upward. 

If  I  might  venture  to  discriminate,  I  would  say  that  it 
was  in  the  conflicts  of  opinion  that  succeeded  the  Revolution 
that  the  greatness  of  Washington  most  displayed  itself ;  for 
it  was  then  that  peril  thickened  in  most  subtle  forms  ;  that 
rival  passions  burned  in  intestine  flames  ;  that  crises  came, 
demanding  wider-reaching  and  more  constructive  faculties 
than  may  be  exhibited  in  war,  and  higher  heroism  than  may 
be  avouched  in  battle. 

And  it  was  then  that  the  soldier  uplifted  the  visor  of  his 
helmet  and  disclosed  the  countenance  of  the  sage,  and  pass- 
ing from  the  fields  of  martial  fame  to  the  heights  of  civil 
achievement,  still  more  resplendent,  became  the  world-wide 
statesman,  like  Venus  in  her  transit,  sinking  the  light  of  his 
past  exploits  only  in  the  sun  of  a  new-found  glory. 

First  to  perceive,  and  swift  to  point  out,  the  defects  in  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  they  became  manifest  to  all  long 
before  victory  crowned  the  warfare  conducted  under  them. 
Charged  by  them  with  the  public  defense,  Congress  could 
not  put  a  soldier  in  the  field;  and  charged  with  defraying 
expenses,  it  could  not  levy  a  dollar  of  imposts  or  taxes.  It 
could,  indeed,  borrow  money  with  the  assent  of  nine  States 
of  the  thirteen,  but  what  mockery  of  finance  was  that,  when 
the  borrower  could  not  command  any  resource  of  payment. 

The  States  had  indeed  put  but  a  scepter  of  straw  in  the 
legislative  hand  of  the  Confederation — what  wonder  that 
it  soon  wore  a  crown  of  thorns!  The  paper  currency  ere 
long  dissolved  to  nothingness;  for  four  days  the  Army  was 
without  food,  and  whole  regiments  drifted  from  the  ranks 
of  our  hard-pressed  defenders.    "I  see,"  said  Washington, 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  105 

"one  head  gradually  changing  into  thirteen;  I  see  one  army 
gradually  branching  into  thirteen,  which,  instead  of  looking 
up  to  Congress  as  the  supreme  controlling  power,  are  con- 
sidering themselves  as  dependent  upon  their  respective 
States."  While  yet  his  sword  could  not  slumber,  his  busy 
pen  was  warning  the  statesmen  of  the  country  that  unless 
Congress  were  invested  with  adequate  powers,  or  should 
assume  them  as  matter  of  right,  we  should  become  but  thir- 
teen States,  pursuing  local  interests,  until  annihilated  in  a 
general  crash — the  cause  would  be  lost — and  the  fable  of  the 
bundle  of  sticks  applied  to  us. 

In  rapid  succession  his  notes  of  alarm  and  invocations  for 
aid  to  Union  followed  each  other  to  the  leading  men  of  the 
States,  North  and  South.  Turning  to  his  own  State,  and  ap- 
pealing to  George  Mason,  ' '  Where, ' '  he  exclaimed,  ' '  where 
are  our  men  of  abilities?  Why  do  they  not  come  forth  and 
save  the  country  ? ' '  He  compared  the  affairs  of  this  great 
continent  to  the  mechanism  of  a  clock,  of  which  each  State 
was  putting  its  own  small  part  in  order,  but  neglecting  the 
great  wheel,  or  spring,  which  was  to  put  the  whole  in  motion. 
He  summoned  Jefferson,  Wythe,  and  Pendleton  to  his  as- 
sistance, telling  them  that  the  present  temper  of  the  States 
was  friendly  to  lasting  union,  that  the  moment  should  be 
improved  and  might  never  return,  and  that  "after  gloriously 
and  successfully  contending  against  the  usurpation  of  Brit- 
ain we  may  fall  a  prey  to  our  own  folly  and  disputes. ' ' 

How  keen  the  prophet's  ken,  that  through  the  smoke  of 
war  discerned  the  coming  evil;  how  diligent  the  Patriot's 
hand,  that  amidst  awful  responsibilities  reached  futureward 
to  avert  it! 


106       Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monu?nent. 

By  almost  a  miracle  the  weak  Confederation,  ' '  a  barrel 
without  a  hoop, ' '  was  held  together  perforce  of  outside  press- 
ure; and  soon  America  was  free. 

But  not  yet  had  beaten  Britain  concluded  peace — not  yet 
had  dried  the  blood  of  Victory's  field  ere  "follies  and  dis- 
putes" confounded  all  things  with  their  Babel  tongues  and 
intoxicated  Liberty  gave  loose  to  license.  An  unpaid  Army 
with  unsheathed  swords  clamored  around  a  poverty-stricken 
and  helpless  Congress.  And  grown  at  last  impatient  even 
with  their  chief,  officers  high  in  rank  plotted  insurrection 
and  circulated  an  anonymous  address,  urging  it  "to  appeal 
from  the  justice  to  the  fears  of  government,  and  suspect  the 
man  who  would  advise  to  longer  forbearance."  Anarchy 
was  about  to  wreck  the  Arch  of  Triumph — poor,  exhausted, 
bleeding,  weeping  America  lay  in  agony  upon  her  bed  of 
laurels. 

Not  a  moment  did  Washington  hesitate.  He  convened 
his  officers,  and  going  before- them  he  read  them  an  address, 
which,  for  home-thrust  argument,  magnanimous  temper, 
and  the  eloquence  of  persuasion  which  leaves  nothing  to  be 
added,  is  not  exceeded  by  the  noblest  utterances  of  Greek 
or  Roman.  A  nobler  than  Coriolanus  was  before  them, 
who  needed  no  mother's  or  wife's  reproachful  tears  to  turn 
the  threatening  steel  from  the  gates  of  Rome.  Pausing,  as 
he  read  his  speech,  he  put  on  his  spectacles  and  said:  "I 
have  grown  gray  in  your  service,  and  now  find  myself  grow- 
ing blind."  This  unaffected  touch  of  nature  completed  the 
master's  spell.  The  late  fomenters  of  insurrection  gathered 
to  their  chief  with  words  of  veneration — the  storm  went 
by — and,  says  Curtis  in  his  History  of  the  Constitution, 
' '  Had  the  Commander-in-Chief  been  other  than  Washing- 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.  107 

ton,  the  land  would  have  been  deluged  with  the  blood  of 
civil  war. ' ' 

But  not  yet  was  Washington's  work  accomplished.  Peace 
dawned  upon  the  weary  land,  and  parting  with  his  soldiers, 
he  pleaded  with  them  for  union.  "Happy,  thrice  happy, 
shall  they  be  pronounced,"  he  said,  "who  have  contrib- 
uted anything  in  erecting  this  stupendous  fabric  of  freedom 
and  empire ;  who  have  assisted  in  protecting  the  rights  of 
human  nature,  and  establishing  an  asylum  for  the  poor  and 
oppressed  of  all  nations  and  religions."  But  still  the  foun- 
dations of  the  stupendous  fabric  trembled,  and  no  cement 
held  its  stones  together.  It  was  then,  with  that  thickening 
peril,  Washington  rose  to  his  highest  stature.  Without 
civil  station  to  call  forth  his  utterance,  impelled  by  the  in- 
trepid impulse  of  a  soul  that  could  not  see  the  hope  of  a 
nation  perish  without  leaping  into  the  stream  to  save  it,  he 
addressed  the  whole  People  of  America  in  a  Circular  to  the 
Governors  of  the  States:  "Convinced  of  the  importance  of 
the  crisis,  silence  in  me,"  he  said,  "would  be  a  crime.  I 
will,  therefore,  speak  the  language  of  freedom  and  sincerity. ' ' 
He  set  forth  the  need  of  union  in  a  strain  that  touched  the 
quick  of  sensibility;  he  held  up  the  citizens  of  America  as 
sole  lords  of  a  vast  tract  of  continent;  he  portrayed  the  fair 
opportunity  for  political  happiness  with  which  Heaven  had 
crowned  them;  he  pointed  out  the  blessings  that  would  at- 
tend their  collective  wisdom ;  that  in  their  fate  was  involved 
that  of  unborn  millions;  that  mutual  concessions  and  sacri- 
fices must  be  made;  and  that  supreme  power  must  be  lodged 
somewhere  to  regulate  and  govern  the  general  concerns  of 
the  Confederate  Republic,  without  which  the  union  would 


108       Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

not  be  of  long  duration.  And  he  urged  that  happiness  would 
be  ours  if  we  seized  the  occasion  and  made  it  our  own. 

In  this,  one  of  the  very  greatest  acts  of  Washington,  was 
revealed  the  heart  of  the  man,  the  spirit  of  the  hero,  the 
wisdom  of  the  sage — I  might  almost  say  the  sacred  inspira- 
tion of  the  prophet. 

But  still  the  wing  of  the  eagle  drooped;  the  gathering 
storms  baffled  his  sunward  flight.  Even  with  Washington 
in  the  van,  the  column  wavered  and  halted — States  strag- 
gling to  the  rear  that  had  hitherto  been  foremost  for  perma- 
nent Union,  under  an  efficacious  Constitution.  And  while 
three  years  rolled  by  amidst  the  jargon  of  sectional  and 
local  contentions,  "the  half-starved  government,"  as  Wash- 
ington depicted  it,  "limped  along  on  crutches,  tottering  at 
every  step."  And  while  monarchical  Europe  with  satur- 
nine face  declared  that  the  American  hope  of  Union  was  the 
wild  and  visionary  notion  of  romance,  and  predicted  that 
we  would  be  to  the  end  of  time  a  disunited  people,  suspi- 
cious and  distrustful  of  each  other,  divided  and  subdivided 
into  petty  commonwealths  and  principalities,  lo!  the  very 
earth  yawned  under  the  feet  of  America,  and  in  that  very 
region  whence  had  come  forth  a  glorious  band  of  orators, 
statesmen,  and  soldiers  to  plead  the  cause  and  fight  the  bat- 
tles of  Independence  —  lo!  the  volcanic  fires  of  Rebellion 
burst  forth  upon  the  heads  of  the  faithful,  and  the  militia 
were  leveling  the  guns  of  the  Revolution  against  the  breasts 
of  their  brethren.  ' '  What,  gracious  God !  is  man? ' '  Wash- 
ington exclaimed :  "It  was  but  the  other  day  that  we  were 
shedding  our  blood  to  obtain  the  Constitutions  under  which 
we  live,  and  now  we  are  unsheathing  our  swords  to  overturn 
them." 


Dedication  of  the  Washi?igton  National  Monument.        1 09 

But  see!  there  is  a  ray  of  hope,  Maryland  and  Virginia 
had  already  entered  into  a  commercial  treaty  for  regulating 
the  navigation  of  the  rivers  and  great  bay  in  which  they 
had  common  interests,  and  Washington  had  been  one  of  the 
Commissioners  in  its  negotiation.  And  now,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Maryland,  Virginia  had  called  on  all  the  States  to 
meet  in  convention  at  Annapolis,  to  adopt  commercial  regu- 
lations for  the  whole  country.  Could  this  foundation  be 
laid,  the  eyes  of  the  Nation-builders  foresaw  that  the  per- 
manent structure  would  ere  long  rise  upon  it.  But  when 
the  day  of  meeting  came,  no  State  north  of  New  York  or 
south  of  Virginia  was  represented;  and  in  their  helplessness 
those  assembled  could  only  recommend  a  Constitutional 
Convention,  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  in  May,  1787,  to  pto- 
vide  for  the  exigencies  of  the  situation. 

And  still  thick  clouds  and  darkness  rested  on  the  land, 
and  there  lowered  upon  its  hopes  a  night  as  black  as  that 
upon  the  freezing  Delaware;  but  through  its  gloom  the 
dauntless  leader  was  still  marching  on  to  the  consummation 
of  his  colossal  work,  with  a  hope  that  never  died;  with  a 
courage  that  never  faltered ;  with  a  wisdom  that  never  yielded 
that  ' 1  all  is  vanity. ' ' 

It  was  not  permitted  the  Roman  to  despair  of  the  Repub- 
lic, nor  did  he — our  Chieftain.  "It  will  all  come  right  at 
last,"  he  said.  It  did.  And  now  let  the  historian,  Ban- 
croft, speak :  ' 4  From  this  state  of  despair  the  country  was 
lifted  by  Madison  and  Virginia."  Again  he  says:  "We 
come  now  to  a  week  more  glorious  for  Virginia  beyond  any 
in  her  annals,  or  in  the  history  of  any  Republic  that  had  ever 
before  existed. ' ' 

It  was  that  week  in  which  Madison,  "giving  effect  to  his 


no       Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

own  long-cherished  wishes,  and  still  earlier  wishes  of  Wash- 
ington," addressing,  as  it  were,  the  whole  country,  and  mar- 
shaling all  the  States,  warned  them  "that  the  crisis  had 
arrived  at  which  the  People  of  America  are  to  decide  the 
solemn  question,  whether  they  would,  by  wise  and  magnani- 
mous efforts  reap  the  fruits  of  Independence  and  of  Union, 
or  whether  by  giving  way  to  unmanly  jealousies  and  preju- 
dices, or  to  partial  and  transitory  interests,  they  would  re- 
nounce the  blessings  prepared  for  them  by  the  Revolution," 
and  conjuring  them  "to  concur  in  such  further  concessions 
and  provisions  as  may  be  necessary  to  secure  the  objects  for 
which  that  Government  was  instituted,  and  make  the  United 
States  as  happy  in  peace  as  they  had  been  glorious  in  war. ' ' 

In  such  manner,  my  countrymen,  Virginia,  adopting  the 
words  of  Madison,  and  moved  by  the  constant  spirit  of  Wash- 
ington, joined  in  convoking  that  Constitutional  Convention, 
in  which  he  headed  her  delegation,  and  over  which  he  pre- 
sided, and  whose  deliberations  resulted  in  the  formation  and 
adoption  of  that  instrument  which  the  Premier  of  Great 
Britain  pronounces  ' '  the  most  wonderful  work  ever  struck 
off  at  a  given  time  by  the  brain  and  purpose  of  man. ' ' 

In  such  manner  the  State  which  gave  birth  to  the  Father 
of  his  Country,  following  his  guiding  genius  to  the  Union, 
as  it  had  followed  his  sword  through  the  battles  of  Independ- 
ence, placed  herself  at  the  head  of  the  wavering  column. 

In  such  manner  America  heard  and  hearkened  to  the  voice 
of  her  chief ;  and  now  closing  ranks,  and  moving  with  re- 
animated step,  the  Thirteen  Commonwealths  wheeled  and 
faced  to  the  front,  on  the  line  of  the  Union,  under  the  sacred 
ensign  of  the  Constitution. 


Dedication  of  the  Waslmigton  National  Monument.        i  i  i 

Thus  at  last  was  the  crowning  work  of  Washington  ac- 
complished. Out  of  the  tempests  of  war,  and  the  tumults  of 
civil  commotion,  the  ages  bore  their  fruit,  the  long  yearning 
of  humanity  was  answered.  "Rome  to  America"  is  the 
eloquent  inscription  on  one  stone  contributed  to  yon  colossal 
shaft — taken  from  the  ancient  Temple  of  Peace  that  once 
stood  hard  by  the  Palace  of  the  Caesars.  Uprisen  from  the 
sea  of  Revolution,  fabricated  from  the  ruins  of  the  battered 
Bastiles,  and  dismantled  palaces  of  unhallowed  power,  stood 
forth  now  the  Republic  of  Republics,  the  Nation  of  Nations, 
the  Constitution  of  Constitutions,  to  which  all  lands  and 
times  and  tongues  had  contributed  of  their  wisdom.  And 
the  Priestess  of  Liberty  was  in  her  Holy  Temple. 

When  Salamis  had  been  fought  and  Greece  again  kept 
free,  each  of  the  victorious  generals  voted  himself  to  be  first 
in  honor;  but  all  agreed  that  Themistocles  was  second. 
When  the  most  memorable  struggle  for  the  rights  of  human 
nature,  of  which  time  holds  record,  was  thus  happily  con- 
cluded in  the  muniment  of  their  preservation,  whoever  else 
was  second,  unanimous  acclaim  declared  that  Washington 
was  first.  Nor  in  that  struggle  alone  does  he  stand  foremost. 
In  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  United  States — their  Presi- 
dent, their  Senators,  their  Representatives,  and  their  Judges, 
do  crown  to-day,  with  the  grandest  crown  that  veneration 
has  ever  lifted  to  the  brow  of  glory,  Him  whom  Virginia  gave 
to  America — whom  America  has  given  to  the  world  and  to 
the  ages — and  whom  mankind  with  universal  suffrage  has 
proclaimed  the  foremost  of  the  founders  of  empire  in  the 
first  degree  of  greatness;  whom  Liberty  herself  has  anointed 
as  the  first  citizen  in  the  great  republic  of  Humanity. 

Encompassed  by  the  inviolate  seas  stands  to-day  the  Amer- 


ii2       Dedication  of  the  Washington  Natio?ial  Monument. 

ican  Republic  which  he  founded — a  freer  Greater  Britain — 
uplifted  above  the  powers  and  principalities  of  the  earth, 
even  as  his  monument  is  uplifted  over  roof  and  dome  and 
spire  of  the  multitudinous  city. 

Long  live  the  Republic  of  Washington!  Respected  by 
mankind,  beloved  of  all  its  sons,  long  may  it  be  the  asylum  of 
the  poor  and  oppressed  of  all  lands  and  religions — long  may 
it  be  the  citadel  of  that  Liberty  which  writes  beneath  the 
Eagle's  folded  wings,  "We  will  sell  to  no  man,  we  will  deny 
to  no  man,  Right  and  Justice. ' ' 

Long  live  the  United  States  of  America!  Filled  with  the 
free,  magnanimous  spirit,  crowned  by  the  wisdom,  blessed 
by  the  moderation,  hovered  over  by  the  guardian  angel  of 
Washington's  example;  may  they  be  ever  worthy  in  all 
things  to  be  defended  by  the  blood  of  the  brave  who  know 
the  rights  of  man  and  shrink  not  from  their  assertion — may 
they  be  each  a  column,  and  altogether,  under  the  Constitu- 
tion, a  perpetual  Temple  of  Peace,  unshadowed  by  a  Caesar's 
palace ;  at  whose  altar  may  freely  commune  all  who  seek  the 
union  of  Liberty  and  Brotherhood. 

Long  live  our  Country!  Oh,  long  through  the  undying 
ages  may  it  stand,  far  removed  in  fact  as  in  space  from  the 
Old  World's  feuds  and  follies — alone  in  its  grandeur  and  its 
glory — itself  the  immortal  monument  of  Him  whom  Provi- 
dence commissioned  to  teach  man  the  power  of  Truth,  and 
to  prove  to  the  nations  that  their  Redeemer  liveth. 

The  delivery  of  the  above  was  repeatedly  interrupted  with 
loud  applause. 

The  President  of  the  Senate.  In  accordance  with 
the  programme,  Benediction  will  now  be  pronounced  by 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.        1 1 3 

Re\.  Dr.  Lindsay,  Chaplain  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. 

The  Rev.  John  S.  Lindsay,  D.  D. ,  then  pronounced  this 
benediction : 

The  blessing  of  God  Almighty,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  be  among  you  and  remain  with  you  always.  Amen. 

At  5  o'clock  p.  m.  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the 

Supreme  Court,  the  Senate,  and  the  invited  guests  retired 

from  the  Hall. 
8  w  M 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Brookline,  Mass.,  June  24,  1884. 

Hon.  John  Sherman, 

Chairman,  cVv.  : 

My  Dear  Sir:  Your  favor  of  the  19th  instant,  addressed  to  me  at 
Boston,  has  reached  me  at  my  summer  home,  and  J  have  not  found 
it  easy  to  reply.  It  brings  me  face  to  face  with  an  appointment 
which  I  hardly  know  how  either  to  accept  or  to  decline. 

I  am  most  highly  honored  by  the  resolution  of  Congress,  naming 
me  as  the  orator  on  the  completion  of  the  Monument  to  Washington, 
and  I  thank  you  sincerely  for  the  friendly  and  flattering  terms  in  which 
you  have  communicated  the  resolution. 

Nothing  would  afford  me  greater  gratification,  in  these  closing 
years  of  my  life,  than  to  perform  the  distinguished  service  thus 
assigned  to  me,  and  I  wish  I  could  feel  emboldened  to  accept  the 
appointment  without  reserve.  But  I  cannot  be  wholly  unmindful  of 
the  disabilities  and  uncertainties  of  advanced  age. 

Should  life  and  health  be  spared  me,  I  shall  not  fail  to  be  with  you 
on  the  22d  of  February  next,  to  unite  in  the  congratulations  of  the 
hour  and  to  do  homage  to  the  memory  of  the  Father  of  his  Country. 
Nor  can  I  decline  to  give  some  expression  to  the  remembrances  and 
emotions  awakened  by  the  completion  of  a  monument,  of  which  I 
was  privileged  to  speak  at  length  at  the  laying  of  its  corner-stone  so 
many  years  ago.  But  I  dare  not  render  myself  responsible  for  a  long, 
elaborate  oration.  The  effort  would  exceed  my  strength,  and  in  all 
sincerity,  but  with  great  reluctance,  I  must  beg  your  Commission  to 
excuse  me  from  the  attempt. 

117 


n8       Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 


A  brief  commemorative  address  is  the  most  that  I  can  promise. 

M  eantime  the  Commission  must  feel  at  perfect  liberty  to  leave  me 
altogether  out  of  their  programme,  and  to  make  such  arrangements 
as  may  seem  to  them  most  likely  to  secure  the  success  of  the  occa- 
sion. I  desire  them  only  to  understand,  that  if,  within  the  limitations 
which  my  age  enjoins,  I  can  lend  any  assistance  or  interest  to  the 
proposed  ceremonial,  I  shall  take  pride  and  pleasure  in  placing  my- 
self at  their  disposal. 

Believe  me,  dear  Senator  Sherman,  with  great  respect  and  regard, 
Your  friend  and  servant, 

ROBT.  C.  WINTHROP. 


90  Marlborough  Street,  Boston, 

February  13,  1885. 

Hon.  John  Sherman, 

Chairman,  &e.  : 

Dear  Senator  Sherman  :  It  is  with  deep  regret  that  I,  find  my- 
self compelled  to  abandon  all  further  hope  of  being  at  the  Dedication 
of  the  Washington  Monument  on  the  21st  instant.  I  have  been 
looking  forward  to  the  possibility  of  being  able  to  run  on  at  the  last 
moment,  and  to  pronounce  a  few  sentences  of  my  oration  before 
handing  it  to  Governor  Long,  who  has  so  kindly  consented  to  read 
it.  But  my  recovery  from  dangerous  illness  has  been  slower  than  I 
anticipated,  and  my  physician  concurs  with  my  family  in  forbidding 
me  from  any  attempt  to  leave  home  at  present. 

I  need  not  assure  the  Commissioners  how  great  a  disappointment 
it  is  to  me  to  be  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  being  present  on  this 
most  interesting  occasion.  I  am  sure  of  their  sympathy  without 
asking  for  it. 

Please  present  my  respectful  apologies  to  your  associates,  and  be- 
lieve me, 

With  great  regard,  very  faithfully,  yours, 

ROBT.  C.  WINTHROP. 

P.  S. — This  is  the  first  letter  I  have  attempted  to  write  with  my 
own  pen  since  my  illness. 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.        i  1 9 
New  York  City,  January  27,  1885. 

Hon.  John  Sherman, 

Chairman,  &"c.  : 

Dear  Sir:  I  regret  very  much  that  my  physical  condition  pre- 
vents my  accepting  the  invitation  of  the  Commissioners  appointed 
by  Congress  to  provide  suitable  ceremonies  for  the  Dedication  of  the 
Washington  Monument,  to  be  present  to  witness  the  same,  on  the 
21st  of  February  next.  My  throat  still  requires  the  attention  of  the 
physician,  daily,  though  I  am  encouraged  to  believe  that  it  is  im 
proving. 

Very  respectfully,  yours, 

U.  S.  GRANT. 
Fremont,  Ohio,  February  16,  1885. 

Hon.  John  Sherman, 

Chairman  : 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  regret  that  it  is  not  practicable  for  me  to  accept 
the  invitation"  to  attend  the  ceremonies  at  the  Dedication  of  the 
Washington  Monument,  on  the  21st  instant. 

When  the  work  on  the  Monument  was  resumed  under  the  act  of 
1876,  as  a  member  of  the  Commission  in  charge  of  it  I  was  much 
interested  in  the  plan  for  strengthening  the  foundation  recommended 
by  the  engineer,  Colonel  Casey,  and  have  ever  since  watched  with 
solicitude  the  progress  of  the  structure  towards  completion.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  have  an  opportunity  to  congratulate  Colonel  Casey  and 
his  associates,  that  after  so  many  anxious  years  of  devotion  to  their 
task  they  are  now  gladdened  by  the  successful  termination  of  their 
skillful  and  hazardous  labors. 

The  fame  of  Washington  needs  no  monument.  No  work  of  human 
hands  can  adequately  illustrate  his  character  and  services 

His  countrymen,  however,  wishing  to  manifest  their  admiration 
and  gratitude,  a  hundred  years  ago  decided  to  build  a  monument  in 
honor  of  his  deeds  and  virtues.  Having  undertaken  the  work,  they 
could  not  neglect  it  or  allow  it  to  fail.  The  friends  of  liberty  and 
good  government  in  all  other  lands  will  unite  with  patriotic  Ameri- 
cans in  rejoicing  that  a  monument  so  fitting  and  majestic  has  now 
been  erected  in  memory  of  Washington. 
Sincerely, 

R.  15.  HAYES. 


1 20        Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

Albany,  January  31,  1885. 

Hon.  John  Sherman, 

Chairman,  arc.  : 

Dear  Sir:  I  regret  very  much  that  it  will  be  impossible  forme  to 
be  present  at  the  ceremonies  attending  the  Dedication  of  the  Wash- 
ington Monument,  on  the  21st  of  February. 

Many  engagements  and  occupations,  which  you  can  well  imagine 
admit  of  no  postponement,  oblige  me  to  forego  the  pleasure  of  taking 
part  in  the  interesting  exercises. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

GROVKR  CLEVELAND. 


Bangor,  January  29,  1885. 

Hon.  John  Sherman, 

Chairman  of  Commission,  ere. : 

I  have  been  honored  in  the  receipt  of  the  invitation  of  the  Com- 
mission in  relation  to  the  Dedication  of  the  Washington  Monument, 
to  be  present  at  the  same  on  the  21st  day  of  February.  I  have  also 
received  your  invitation  for  the  same  purpose,  in  which  you  express 
the  hope  that  I  will  accept  the  imitation  tendered  to  me. 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  the  event  and  its  national  character, 
1  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  decline  your  im  itation,  and  I  cordially 
accept  the  same. 

1  will  be  present  at  the  Dedication,  unless  prevented  by  some 
cause  not  now  known  or  anticipated. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  very  truly,  yours, 

HANNIBAL  HAMLIN. 


MALONE,  N.  Y.,  January  28,  1885. 

Hon.  John  Sherman, 

Cha/rman,  cty.  : 

Sir:  I  am  in  receipt,  through  you  as  its  chairman,  of  the  imita- 
tion of  the  "Committee  appointed  by  Congress  to  provide  suitable 
ceremonies  for  the  Dedication  of  the  Washington  Monument,"  to  be 
present  at  those  ceremonies. 


Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument.       1 2 1 

I  greatly  regret  to  say  that  the  condition  of  my  health  will  deprive 
me  of  the  pleasure  of  being  present  on  that  occasion. 
Very  respectfully,  yours, 

W.  A.  WHEELER. 


912  Garrison  Avenue,  Saint  Louis,  Mo., 

January  28,  1885. 

Hon.  John  Sherman, 

Chairman  of  Committee,  Washington,  D.  C. : 
Dear  Sir:  I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  compliment  of  your  invita- 
tion to  share  in  the  ceremonial  of  the  Dedication  of  the  Washing- 
ton Monument  on  the  21st  of  February  next,  and  to  express  regret 
that  I  cannot  be  present. 
With  great  respect, 

W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

General. 


Oak  Knoll,  Danvers,  Mass., 

Second  Month  8,  1885. 

Hon.  John  Sherman, 

Chairman  of  Committee : 

Dear  Friend:  The  state  of  my  health  will  scarcely  permit  me  to 
avail  myself  of  the  invitation  of  the  Commission  to  attend  the  cere- 
monies of  the  Dedication  of  the  Washington  Monument. 

In  common  with  my  fellow-citizens  I  rejoice  at  the  successful  com- 
pletion of  this  majestic  testimonial  of  the  reverence  and  affection 
which  the  people  of  the  United  States,  irrespective  of  party,  section, 
or  race,  cherish  for  the  Father  of  his  Country.  Grand,  however,  and 
imposing  as  that  testimonial  may  seem,  it  is,  after  all,  but  an  inade- 
quate outward  representation  of  that  mightier  monument,  unseen 
and  immeasureable,  builded  of  the  living  stones  of  a  nation's  love 
and  gratitude,  the  hearts  of  forty  millions  of  people.  But  the  world 
has  not  outlived  its  need  of  picture-writing  and  symbolism,  and  the 
great  object-lesson  of  the  Washington  Monument  will  doubtless 
prove  a  large  factor  in  the  moral  and  political  education  of  present 
and  future  generations.    Let  us  hope  that  it  will  be  a  warning  as  well 


i22       Dedication  of  the  Washington  National  Monument. 

as  a  benediction;  and  that  while  its  sun-lit  altitude  may  fitly  symbol- 
ize the  truth  that  "righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,"  its  shadow  falling 
on  the  dome  of  the  Capitol  may  be  a  daily  reminder  that  "  sin  is  a 
reproach  to  any  people."  Surely  it  will  not  have  been  reared  in 
vain  if,  on  the  day  of  its  dedication,  its  mighty  shaft  shall  serve  to 
lift  heavenward  the  voice  of  a  united  people  that  the  principles  for 
which  the  fathers  toiled  and  suffered  shall  be  maintained  inviolate 
by  their  children. 

With  sincere  respect,  I  am  thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 


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